Marshmallow Peeps get dedicated retail store in Maryland

Just in time for Christmas, an iconic Easter candy got a dedicated retail store in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Marshmallow Peeps, largely associated with Easter, are available for Valentine’s Day, Christmas and Halloween in shapes such as hearts, gingerbread men, black cats, Christmas trees and snowmen. And now Peeps fanatics have a retail location to satisfy all their Peeps-related shopping needs. Peeps & Company (often abbreviated to the Tiffany-eque “Peeps & Co.”) opened a Peeps shop at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland on Thursday.

In addition to everything one could possibly want that is Peeps-themed, the store also carries merchandise related to Hot Tamales and Mike & Ike, products of the Just Born line of candies. In a statement announcing the grand opening of the location, Just Born indicated the store would offer ” an array of high-quality branded items such as apparel, gear, china and toys within a fun, branded retail location.”

Peeps have a strong fan base, frequently featuring in internet humor- according to the company, 1/3 of Peeps purchased are not consumed, but played with. A filmmaker, who documented Peeps fandom in a 45-minute film, spoke to the LA Times about the cultural fascination with Peeps:

“They manage to straddle the world between cute and horrible,” he said. “You can look into their black beady eyes and see your childhood. Or you can look into their black beady eyes and see the bleakness of the soul.”