Bethlehem, PA, July 8, 2009 –Just Born, Inc., maker of PEEPS^®, MIKE AND IKE^®, HOT TAMALES^®, TEENEE BEANEE^® and PEANUT CHEWS^® candies, is pleased to announce that it will open its first retail store, PEEPS & COMPANY^™, at National Harbor, Maryland.  In addition to its great tasting candy, PEEPS & COMPANY^™ will offer an array of high-quality branded items such as apparel, gear, china and toys within a fun, branded retail location.

Slated to open this fall, PEEPS & COMPANY^™ will be located at the very center of National Harbor’s dynamic main plaza and the branded environment will be custom designed by the Chicago Office of RTKL Associates, Inc.  Directly in front of the PEEPS & COMPANY^™ store is Seward Johnson’s famous statue, The Awakening, along with sweeping views of the beautiful Potomac River.  The store’s location is at a converging point for residents and thousands of visitors arriving by metro bus, car, and ferries, which dock at the piers in front of the store.

In a joint statement, David Shaffer and Ross Born, Co-CEOs of Just Born, commented, “This is a momentous occasion for Just Born, our family of associates, and fans of our candy.  For years, we have seen tremendous growth and excitement in our brands, and received many requests for a store in just the right location.  In an extensive search, assisted by Cooper Retail Consulting, we selected National Harbor which promises to meet all of our needs.”

National Harbor:  Rising from the banks of the Potomac minutes from Washington D.C. and just south of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Prince George's County, MD, National Harbor is a 300-acre, mixed-used development that includes five hotels (including the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, the largest such facility on the East Coast), thousands of residential units, tree-lined promenades with scores of shops and offices, a marina and much more.  Created by Washington, D.C.-area developer, The Peterson Companies, the project will command a mile and a quarter of the Potomac.

Just Born, Inc. is a privately owned company founded in 1923 and headquartered in Bethlehem, PA, where it manufactures PEEPS^®, HOT TAMALES^®, MIKE AND IKE^®, MIKE AND IKE^® ZOURS^® and TEENEE BEANEE^® Brand Candies. PEANUT CHEWS^® Brand Candies are produced in Philadelphia, PA. Just Born employs over 475 associates and markets its candy in over 45 countries. All Just Born candies are made in the U.S.A.

Cooper Retail Consulting Group of Chicago, Illinois, may be contacted with PEEPS & COMPANY^™ inquiries at 847.236.1957.

National Harbor leasing inquiries should be addressed to Marc Menick, Vice President, Retail for The Peterson Companies at 703.631.7517 or mmenick@petersoncos.com.  

Visit  www.marshmallowpeeps.com,  www.hottamales.com,  www.mikeandike.com and www.peanutchews.com or www.NationalHarbor.com for more information on our brands.  Images are available upon request.

Manufacturing footage of Just Born’s MIKE AND IKE®, PEANUT CHEWS®, PEEPS® and HOT TAMALES Brands is available at:

 
http://imiragevideo.serveftp.com:8080/WebInterface/login.html
 
Username: justborn
Password:  justborn1
 
Right click file and select “save target as” to download file.

Ellie Deardorff, 609.279.0977, edeardorff@justborn.com