What does it take to produce millions of marshmallow PEEPs, jelly beans, and chocolate eggs? A lot of chocolate, corn syrup, and decades of manufacturing innovation.
So just how do the country's largest confectioners keep up with America's inexhaustibly voracious appetite for Easter candy?
We looked into the manufacturing techniques of some of the most popular sweets*—Marshmallow PEEPS, Jelly Belly Jelly Beans, and Cadbury Creme Eggs—to find out.
**A recent RetailMeNot.com survey suggests that Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Chocolate Eggs are the most popular (26%). And even though you can get Reese's anytime, there is something different about those mini eggs that are better than a normal Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. It's also no surprise that peeps only came in at 14% of the vote. (They also declined my request for an interview)
John Hitch, based out of Cleveland, Ohio, is the editor of Fleet Maintenance, a B2B magazine that addresses the service needs for all commercial vehicle makes and models (Classes 1-8), ranging from shop management strategies to the latest tools to enhance uptime.
He previously wrote about equipment and fleet operations and management for FleetOwner, and prior to that, manufacturing and advanced technology for IndustryWeek and New Equipment Digest. He is an award-winning journalist and former sonar technician aboard a nuclear-powered submarine where he served honorably aboard the fast-attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723).
