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. 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 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. Irv and Jack Shaffer, Born's brothers-in-law, joined the company to help market and sell the confections. In 1932, 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. 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. 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. ==Union and pension disputes==