It's Not Just You, Peeps Really Are Everywhere Right Now

Almost exactly a year ago, Just Born Quality Confections, the Pennsylvania company that produces those pastel Peeps marshmallow candies, announced that it would be temporarily suspending production at two of its factories due to the "rapidly evolving" coronavirus pandemic. As a result, it expected that some retailers might face Peeps shortages during the spring. "We will continue to work with our retail partners to ensure that the fans of our brands can continue to enjoy them during this challenging time," it wrote.

Those production issues stretched through the end of last year, and prevented Just Born from producing Peeps for last Halloween and Christmas, and for Valentine's Day last month. On its website, the company explained that its willingness to sacrifice those other seasonal shapes meant that Just Born would most likely be able to meet the demand for the beady-eyed candies this spring.

Those calculations seem to have paid off because Peeps are freaking everywhere this year. "Peeps is back and better than ever," Caitlin Servian, Brand Manager for Peeps, said in a statement. "We're thrilled to be returning this Spring to fulfill special Easter traditions, no matter how you plan on celebrating this year. For nearly seven decades, Peeps Marshmallow Candy has been a quintessential Easter staple. Each year fans count on the classic Chicks and Bunnies, along with fun new products and partnerships, to add extra 'Peepsonality' at Easter."

In addition to the 'traditional' Peeps, the company will be offering at least nine different flavors this year, which range from Cotton Candy Flavored Marshmallow Chicks to Chocolate Pudding Flavored Marshmallow Bunnies. That's along with new Peeps-scented Easter basket grass and even a "Cookie Coop" to keep your chicks in.

It has also launched more than a half-dozen different partnerships, including Kellogg's Peeps Cereal, Peeps Pez candies, and a four-pack of Peeps-branded makeup sponges. Build-A-Bear, the store you wish your four-year-old would forget about, is currently offering a line of Peeps-themed accessories for whatever just-assembled stuffed animal you've bought. And if you worried whether your Crocs were too business-casual, you can send them spiraling straight into casual-casual by getting a pair that look like you've got three marshmallow chicks stuck to each foot.

And, of course, there's this year's limited-edition Pepsi x Peeps flavor that comes in a bright yellow can. (Unfortunately-slash-fortunately, the marshmallow-flavored cola is not in stores; anyone who wanted a sip of... whatever it is had to use the #HangingWithMyPEEPS hashtag to have a chance of winning a pack of the soda.) That's in addition to 7-Eleven's new Peeps lattes, of course.

And on Wednesday, Peeps announced that it was partnering with Green Giant to release a limited-edition run of cauliflower-flavored marshmallow bunnies. "The cauliflower trend is hard to miss—these days we see it being used in everything from pizza crusts to tots and beyond," Servian said in a statement. "We thought it was time for PEEPS® to get in on the fun, which is why we teamed up with a leading brand in vegetable innovation, Green Giant, to bring this unique product offering to fans across the country."

Yes, this is a slightly premature April Fool's joke—the press release makes that clear—but after all of these other collabs and slightly bonkers brand extensions, who'd blame us for falling for it?