Just Born, Inc., is an American family-owned

confectionery Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...

company based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It manufactures and markets a number of confectionery, including Goldenberg's Peanut Chews, Hot Tamales,

Mike and Ike Mike and Ike is an American brand of fruit-flavored candies that were first introduced in 1940 by American company Just Born. Despite conjecture, the origin of the candy's name remains unknown. History Mike and Ike is located in Bethlehem, ...

Peeps Peeps are a marshmallow confection produced by candy maker Just Born since 1953 for sale the United States and Canada in the shape of chicks, bunnies, and other animals, as well as holidays, holiday shapes, with themes revolving around Hallowe ...

, Teenee Beanee jelly beans, and Zours. Advertising its products with the slogan "a great candy isn't made... it's Just Born," the company was ranked as the 10th largest candy company in the United States, as of 2013.

History

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

immigrant Sam Born (1891–1959) came to the United States in December 1909. He moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, where, in 1916, Born was awarded the " key to the city" of San Francisco for inventing the ''Born Sucker Machine'', a machine that mechanically inserted sticks into

lollipop A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker and sticky-pop. Lollipops are avail ...

s. In 1917, Born started a small retail store in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He displayed in his store window an evolving line of daily-made candy, advertising its freshness with a sign that declared ''Just Born''. The original company symbol showed a baby resting in a candy measuring scale. Sam Born is also credited with the invention of chocolate sprinkles, known as "

jimmies Sprinkles are small pieces of confectionery used as an often colorful decoration or to add texture to desserts such as brownies, cupcakes, doughnuts or ice cream. The tiny candies are produced in a variety of colors and are generally used as ...

," and the hard coating on ice cream bars. In 1923, Born started his own manufacturing company in New York City. Irv and Jack Shaffer, Born's brothers-in-law, joined the company to help market and sell the confections. In 1932, the trio relocated operations to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The company bought a four-story, 224,396 sq. ft. building, built during 1920, from a bankrupt printing company. Sam Born's son, Bob Born, joined the company in 1945, and would later become the company's president for more than 30 years. He was part of the two-man team that mechanized the process forming Peeps, allowing a substantial increase of production, causing Just Born to become America's largest manufacturer of seasonal marshmallow confections. Bob Born died at age 98 on January 29, 2023. In 1953, the company acquired Rodda Candy Co. of Lancaster County; a manufacturer of jelly beans, as well as a seasonal (Easter) marshmallow candy: Peeps. Just Born later mechanized the product manufacture and eventually generalized its advertising for year-round sales. In 2003, the company purchased the Goldenberg Candy Company, retaining its Philadelphia factory. Just Born originally re-branded Goldenberg's Peanut Chews as a Just Born product, deleting references to the name Goldenberg, which the company later restored.

Union and pension disputes

On September 2, 2016, members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 6 voted to strike on Sept. 7 after unanimously rejecting the company's most recent contract offer. Most workers resumed their jobs on September 30, although no final agreement had been made. At the basis of the dispute is the company's attempt to withdraw future employees from a multi-employer pension fund named the Bakery and Confectionery Union and Industrial International Pension Fund. Such a withdrawal requires the employer to pay a US$60 million withdrawal fee (to fund future retirees), which Just Born has gone to court to avoid paying.

References

External links

*
Peeps documentary

Just Born
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{{Just Born Chocolate companies based in Pennsylvania Companies based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania American companies established in 1923 Confectionery companies of the United States 1923 establishments in Pennsylvania Manufacturing companies established in 1923 Privately held companies based in Pennsylvania Family-owned companies of the United States