Walmart, Target, and Kroger are already prepping for Easter, which is still more than a month away. And that means rows of Peeps, the marshmallow confection, are already showing up on retailers’ shelves.
Gone are the days of the single yellow Peeps. Just Born Quality Confections, the company that owns the Peeps brand, has introduced a number of new flavors in recent years. Typically, the company will introduce at least one new flavor at key seasons. This spring, the company has launched eight new flavors, including three mystery flavors that won’t be revealed until the end of March.
Consumers won’t be able to pick these Peeps up just anywhere. Only one of the new flavors will be launched nationwide. The others will be at certain retailers.
Here’s the complete list:
Sour Cherry—sold nationwide
The sour cherry-flavored Peeps, which are 26 calories per chick, will be sold at retailers nationwide, including Walmart, Target, and Krogers.
3 Mystery flavors— sold at Walmart
Peeps has launched a social media campaign around the three mystery flavors, under the hashtag #mysterypeeps! The company will reveal the mystery flavors at the end of March.
The mystery flavors are only available at Walmart stores.
The pancake and syrup-flavored confection was one of last year’s mystery flavors. The company decided to debut it this year because of positive customer response. It is only available at Kroger’s family of Stores, which includes City Market, Fry’s, and King Soopers.
Filled Peeps
The company has three new “filled delights” Peeps this year, including Neapolitan with chocolate and strawberry filling, and two sherbets—lemon and orange—that are dipped in fudge. These are only available at Target.
It may seem unusual for a company to make only some of its products available at certain retailers. Peeps says this strategy helps it test out products. Products that do well at certain stores are typically launched nationally the following year.