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Just Born

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Just Born, Inc.
Company type
IndustryConfectionery production
Founded1923; 101 years ago (1923) in New York City, New York, United States
FounderSam Born
Headquarters
1300 Stefko Boulevard, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
,
United States
Area served
United States
Key people
David Shaffer (Chairman & Co-CEO)
Gardner Jett, Jr. (Co-CEO)
ProductsCandies
RevenueUS$301 million (2021)
OwnerShaffer family
Number of employees
600 (2021)
Websitewww.justborn.com

Just Born, Inc., is a family-owned Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based candy company[1] that manufactures and markets a number of candies, including Goldenberg's Peanut Chews, Hot Tamales, Mike and Ike, Peeps, 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.[2]

History

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Russian-Jewish immigrant Sam Born (1891–1959) came to the United States in December 1909. He moved to San Francisco, 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 lollipops.[3][4][5][6]

In 1917, Born started a small retail store in Brooklyn, New York. 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[citation needed] with the invention of chocolate sprinkles, known as "jimmies," and the hard coating on ice cream bars.

In 1923, Born started his own manufacturing company in New York City.[7] Irv and Jack Shaffer, Born's brothers-in-law, joined the company to help market and sell the confections. In 1932,[8] 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.[9]

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.[10][11]

In 1953, the company acquired Rodda Candy Co. of Lancaster County;[12] 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.[8]

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.[13]

Union and pension disputes

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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.[14][15]

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.[16][17] 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.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Andrew Adam Newman (April 11, 2012). "Reviving Two Characters by Tearing Them Apart". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Nadia Marblestone (August 12, 2013). "Bethlehem's Just Born Quality Confections celebrates 90 years of candy making". Lehigh Valley Live.
  3. ^ Smith, Andrew F. (2012). Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-39393-8. He moved to San Francisco, where he invented the Born Sucker Machine. He subsequently launched Just Born, a candy company that is today headquartered in ...
  4. ^ "Sam Born: Inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame in 2006". NCSA National Confectionary Sales Association: Candy Hall of Fame Inductees. Archived from the original on 15 April 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  5. ^ Severson, Kim (3 April 1999). "Peeps Rule Roost / Easter's unofficial marshmallow treat now a chic and easy target to spoof". SFGATE. Retrieved 28 February 2023. In 1916, Sam Born, whose son would later develop a way to mass-produce Peeps and whose name the company bears, was given a key to the city of San Francisco.
  6. ^ Blitz, Matt (May 24, 2017). "The History of Peeps". Food & Wine. Retrieved 28 February 2023. In 1910, 19-year-old Russian Jewish immigrant Sam Born landed in New York....what he and his family did in Europe, which was making chocolate....
  7. ^ "Our History". Just Born. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  8. ^ a b Dan Sheehan (October 14, 2015). "You know you're from the Lehigh Valley if you ever had Peeps in your Easter basket". The Morning Call, Lehigh Valley.
  9. ^ "Just Born Inc. has legacy of sweet Peeps and good jobs". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. 1 April 2001. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Bob Born, the 'Father of Peeps,' has died". CNN Business. January 31, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  11. ^ "Bob Born, Who Brought Marshmallow Peeps to the Masses, Dies at 98". February 5, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  12. ^ Andrew Adam Newman (October 11, 1999). "Company Is Making More Than a Peep in the Candy Industry". Bill Bergstrom.
  13. ^ Andrew Adam Newman (August 19, 2012). "After Failed Identity Change, Peanut Chews Reclaims Its Goldenberg's Roots". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Salamone, Anthony (29 March 2018). "Watch robots snatch up Just Born's Peeps without squishing them".
  15. ^ Salamone, Anthony (2016-09-30). "Just Born workers returning to their jobs today". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  16. ^ a b "Trouble in candy land: How Peeps, pensions and a lawsuit threaten to upend the American retirement system". Washington Post.
  17. ^ "Peeps candy workers win strike case against Just Born". CBS News.
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