🐣 National PEEPS Day 2025 – Apr 5

🐰 National PEEPS Day ORIGIN & HISTORY

National PEEPS Day honors the iconic marshmallow candy loved for its bright colors & playful shapes, and is celebrated on the 5th Day in April. It’s a day for eating, crafting, baking, and welcoming spring with a little extra sweetness.

On average, about 5.5 million PEEPS are made daily, up to 2 billion a year!!

BIRTH of the Day

National PEEPS Day formally began in 2009, when the National Confectioners Association designated April 5 as the day to honor the sugary, marshmallow candy. That time of year made sense, since PEEPS are most popular around Easter, and this day usually falls right before the holiday. It likely started because of a mix of fan enthusiasm and brand promotion as PEEPS expanded into new flavors, products, and collabs.

REASONS Behind the Holiday

PEEPS have always stood for more than candy. They capture creativity, originality, and the spirit of spring. National PEEPS Day gives people a reason to share traditions, from crafting projects to baking desserts. It celebrates the playful nature of PEEPS and the many ways they spark joy.

The Story of PEEPS

The PEEPS tale hatches out in 1909 with Samuel Bernstein, a Russian immigrant who came to the USA from France. Often as immigrants do, he changed his name to Sam Born. He eventually started his own candy business called Just Born in 1923 Brooklyn, New York. The cheeky name “Just Born” came from Sam displaying his fresh, daily-made candy in his shop window with a simple sign that read just born.

A candy maker by trade, Born was responsible for many innovations we take for granted today, including:

• The tech to produce chocolate sprinkles, which he called Jimmies
• That hard chocolate coating used for Eskimo Pies. They were originally called I-Scream Bar by the Danish immigrant Christian K Nelson in 1921. But his new partner, Russell C Stover, changed it to Eskimo Pies in 1922. Eventually citing the product’s “derogatory” name, it ultimately became Edy’s Pies after the new owners!
• San Francisco actually gave him the keys to the city in 1916 for inventing a machine that mechanically inserted sticks into lollipops. He called it the “Born sucker machine”.

Born introduced “French Chocolates” to New York City. The company thrived during the Great Depression and in 1932 moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for more growth opportunities, becoming a major local employer in the steel town. New product successes followed, including MIKE AND IKE fruit chews in 1940 and the very popular & spicy, cinnamon-flavored HOT TAMALES in 1950.

While Just Born made various candies, the PEEPS we know & love today came about in 1953 after he bought the Rodda Candy Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. But what piqued Born’s interest was that Rodda had also been making a handmade marshmallow chick. Older women were in the back making them by hand. This labor-intensive process took 27 hours for a single tray to cool.

Sam’s son, Bob Born, revolutionized the production process in 1954 by inventing a machine called the “Depositor,” which automated the shaping of marshmallow chicks and drastically reduced production time from 27 hours to just six minutes per tray. This allowed for mass production, and PEEPS quickly became a popular Easter treat. Of course, this meant that their original little wings had to be clipped for a more streamlined shape.

Just Born also acquired the legendary candy brand PEANUT CHEWS from Philadelphia’s Goldenberg family in 2003.

GOALS of National PEEPS Day

1. Sweet History Lesson – Celebrate the history and evolution of the PEEPS brand.
2. Pushing the Boundaries – Encourage creative uses of PEEPS in art, baking, crafts, activities, and even science experiments!
3. In Marshmallows We Trust – Bring people together through a shared love of a classic treat. Some people eat them straight from the package; others get creative …
4. Easter Parade – Build excitement for the peak Easter season when PEEPS takes center stage in candy aisles and creative kitchens alike!
5. Innovations in Marshmallow Magic – Celebrates the brand’s latest innovations, from bold new flavors to creative product collaborations that find fresh ways to showcase the colorful bites of fun!

WHY that Particular Day?

Even though Just Born never officially publicized it, April 5th was chosen because it usually falls right before Easter. This marks the height of PEEPS season (even though it’s sold year-round) when the candy appears in stores nationwide and many people are already looking for fun, colorful ways to celebrate spring.

Significance in PRESENT Day

Originally, PEEPS were only yellow chicks sold at Easter, which makes up 70% of their annual sales. Over the years, they grew into a full brand with bunnies, hearts, pumpkins, in many flavors and colors. Today, PEEPS are now available year-round for Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day.

Check out recent flavors – Tropical Punch, Cinnamon Churro, Breyers Cookies & Cream, ICEE PEEPS Slushie. Also, unexpected partnerships with brands like Serendipity pop-up restaurant, Alex and Ani jewelry, DASH waffle makers, Promised Land Dairy, Polly Pocket, Duncan Hines, and Milk-Bone offer fans fresh and unexpected ways to enjoy. Many of these are exclusive to the stores: Dollar Tree, Target, Regal Cinemas, Walmart, and Kroger.

🐥 HOW to Celebrate & Observe National PEEPS Day?

Not sure how to LOVE the day? We’ve got a few interesting ideas to consider that may help get you started.

Here are some activities you can do on National PEEPS Day!

💙 EAT Them (Obviously)

Try every flavor of PEEPS you can find, from classic yellow chicks to wild new varieties (Rice Krispies, Dr Pepper, Watermelon Sour, etc). Challenge friends to a blind taste test to guess the flavors. Better yet, get your hands on a PEEPS-flavored Pepsi!

💙 Discover Your PEEPS-onality

Try PEEPS fresh from the package, freeze them for a cool treat, leave them out to get chewy, microwave them to watch them puff up, toast them like marshmallows, dip them in chocolate, crumble them over desserts, blend them into milkshakes, stuff them into colorful s’mores, or even melt them into gooey fondue for dipping.

💙 Bake with PEEPS

Make s’mores using PEEPS instead of regular marshmallows, bake PEEPS-topped cupcakes or cakes. Some top pizzas. Others melt them into bright and gooey Rice Krispies treats.

💙 Do Some SCIENCE Stuff

Microwave PEEPS and watch them puff up dramatically, or experiment by placing them in different liquids to see what happens in soda, vinegar, and water.

💙 Get CRAFTY

Use PEEPS to build dioramas, create colorful wreaths or garlands, and even paint with them by dipping them in edible colors to make marshmallow art.

💙 FAMILY & CLASSROOM Activities

Celebrating National PEEPS Day can be a delightful and creative experience. Remember to tailor these activities based on the age group and preferences of the children or students involved. Let the fun and laughter cheep cheep, peep peep in this special section!

It’s also a great opportunity for teachers to build a simple thematic unit around PEEPS—blending science (STEM), art, reading, math, and creative writing all in one. Whether it’s a one-day focus or a week-long project, this day gives educators a fun way to connect classroom lessons with seasonal traditions, hands-on activities, and marshmallow-fueled creativity.

Here are some child-friendly and playful ways for children to celebrate the occasion and honor the spongy, sugary fluff of PEEPS:

• PEEPS-onality Test – Find out what kind of PEEP you are with a silly quiz. Are you a chill chick or a bold bunny?
• PEEPS Parade – March around the house or yard with your PEEPS on sticks or plushies; play music and show off your marshmallow style!
• Build a PEEPS Village – Use graham crackers, frosting, and PEEPS to build tiny houses and scenes. Go ahead, make a whole town of fluff!
• PEEPS Art Studio – Glue PEEPS to paper, add googly eyes, draw silly scenes, or even turn them into superheroes.
• The Great PEEPS Hunt – Like an Easter egg hunt but with hidden PEEPS. Find them all and trade them in for a small prize!
• PEEPS Taste Test Station – Set up different flavors of PEEPS and have kids give each one a silly rating like “Marshmallow Madness” or “Bunnylicious”.
• Microwave PEEPS Magic Show – Put a PEEP on a plate and microwave for a few seconds (with adult supervision!). Watch it puff up like magic.
• PEEPS Costume Time – Dress up as your favorite PEEP. Use bunny ears, chick beaks, and lots of pastel colors.
• PEEPS Storytime – Read or make up stories about PEEPS going on adventures. What if a PEEP wanted to go to outer space?
• Create Your Own PEEP – Draw a new kind of PEEP no one has ever seen, then give it a name, powers, and your favorite flavor!

💙 RAISE Social Awareness

Use social media posts with the hashtags #NationalPeepsDay, #PeepsDay, #Peeps, #Peepsonality, #FoodHolidays, #AprilHolidays, #Holiday, #FindADayToLOVE, #iHEARTdays to support the importance of celebrating, promoting, and sharing with the world why you ❤️ National PEEPS Day.

LEARN more about the history of PEEPS

PEEPS FACTORY TOUR

THE EVOLUTION OF PEEPS