Bethlehem, PA. — March 8, 2016 — Spring into the Easter season with tips and tricks on how to make the perfect basket from the one and only Spring Ambassador – PEEPS®. With Easter arriving early this year, waiting to the last minute to prepare baskets may not be ideal. A study conducted by the PEEPS® brand found that 71 percent of people wait until the last two weeks before Easter to stock their baskets[*]. Just Born Retail Group, the retail arm of Just Born Quality Confections which makes PEEPS®, MIKE AND IKE® and HOT TAMALES, provides fans a one-stop ‘hop’ to obtain everything they need for a top-notch Easter experience, without the hassle.
“As a company that is pivotal to the Easter holiday, we want to assure our fans that we are here to help when it comes to assembling the perfect Easter basket,” said Kimberly Stiele, Managing Director for Just Born Retail Group. “We are constantly developing new items to make sure we offer products that align with current merchandising trends, while preserving our traditional items that our fans have used to fill Easter baskets for many years.”
With just a few tips and tricks, making a PEEPS®-tastic Easter basket doesn’t have to be stressful or overwhelming.
Make Traditions:
Holidays are a time to gather and celebrate with family while creating memories. Pass down an Easter tradition to children by placing classic items in Easter baskets that can be repeated each year. Try including a few delicious staple candies that perhaps were childhood favorites, like the new PEEPS® Rainbow Chick Party Pack, a supersized box of iconic marshmallow Chicks in colorful packages of yellow, pink, blue, lavender, green and orange. Easter morning attire should include PEEPS® Chick Socks and PEEPS® slippers for sure!
Add Customization:
Though there is no exact formula for making the perfect Easter basket, Just Born Retail Group has items for every PEEPSONALITY®. Whether creating a basket for a child, teenager or adult – it’s important to add a personal touch. More than half of people (62 percent) agree that it is essential to include toys in Easter baskets[*]. Personalize Easter baskets by giving something unique, like a PEEPS® Beach Ball for a young athlete, MIKE AND IKE® Earbuds for a music lover or a new PEEPS® Springy Chick Headband for the fashionista in your life.
Use Color:
It’s no coincidence that 82 percent of people insist color variety is a must for creating the ideal basket [*]. Including a few traditional PEEPS® and MIKE AND IKE® filled Easter eggs can be just the thing to create a fun and eye-catching basket. Don’t forget that what goes inside those eggs is just as important and can provide an opportunity for additional surprises. For chocolate fans, try PEEPS® PEEPSTERS®, delightful bite-size pieces of milk or dark chocolate combined with marshmallow flavored crème. The perfect addition to any Easter basket, the MIKE AND IKE® Easter Bunny comes with the limited edition MIKE AND IKE® Easter Treats, which are dressed in festive pastel colors. For those that love to find colorful beans inside their eggs, fruity-chewy MIKE AND IKE® Assorted Fruits Jelly Beans and MIKE AND IKE® TANGY TWISTER® Jelly Beans, and or spicy HOT TAMALES® Fierce Cinnamon Jelly Beans will satisfy any egg hunt seeker.
Organization:
Presentation is everything when it comes to getting that professional look. Start by filling the bottom of the basket with green ‘grass-like’ crinkle paper. When placing all of the treats within the basket, start with the biggest item in the center to create that “wow” factor. The 16-inch Shaggy Plush PEEPS® Bunnies would be a great focal point for any basket. Next, build around the central item proportionally by height. Place the biggest candy packages in the back and then include the smaller items such as plastic eggs filled with MIKE AND IKE® and HOT TAMALES® Lollipops front and center.
No time to create a DIY Easter basket? No problem. Just Born Retail Group offers a variety of pre-made PEEPS® Easter Baskets. The baskets have everything anyone could possibly want on Easter morning including, the traditional marshmallow PEEPS® Chicks or Bunnies, chocolate shaggy plush and fun Easter games.
All of these items are available for purchase at any of the three brick and mortar PEEPS & COMPANY® locations and partnerships with select national retailers including, but not limited to, Target, Walgreens and CVS and specialty retailers, It’Sugar and Dylan’s Candy Bar. For more information and to join the conversation, please visit PEEPS & COMPANY® on social media at facebook.com/PEEPSANDCOMPANY or @PEEPSANDCOMPANY on Twitter and Instagram.
About Just Born Quality Confections:
Just Born Quality Confections is a third-generation family-owned company that has grown into the 9th largest candy company in the U.S. Just Born is the maker of some of America’s most beloved and iconic brands – PEEPS®, MIKE AND IKE®, HOT TAMALES® and GOLDENBERG’S® PEANUT CHEWS®. In 1923, the founder, Sam Born, opened a small candy-making and retail store in Brooklyn, New York, where he marketed the freshness of his daily-made candy with a sign that declared, “Just Born.” Together with Born’s brothers-in-law, Irv and Jack Shaffer, the company thrived in spite of the economic depression of the 1930s and, in 1932, moved its operations to Bethlehem, PA, which is still home to their iconic candy brands. All Just Born candies are proudly made in the U.S.A. For more information, please visit www.justborn.com. Follow us: facebook.com/JustBornInc, twitter.com/JustBornInc.
About Just Born Retail Group:
Just Born Retail Group is a division of Just Born Quality Confections that brings the iconic candy brands to life, with an array of high-quality branded items such as apparel, plush, accessories and gifts for shoppers of all ages. Fans can find the fun in three PEEPS & COMPANY® retail locations, and in popular mass retailers across the country. Visit one of three retail stores located in Center Valley, PA, National Harbor, MD and the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN for great seasonal and evergreen gifts.
[*] All data compiled is based off an Easter study of 2,003 participants in the United States conducted from March 24 through April 4 2015, led by Just Born Quality Confections.