Trader Joe’s Vegan Peeps
Trader Joe’s unveiled their own branded Vegan Peeps as “Marshmallow Eggs” this week, and they are gelatin-free1, dairy-free, made with plant-based dyes, and vegan-friendly!
First spotted by a TJ’s retail worker who shared the discovery with blogger Big Box Vegan, the Marshmallow Egg Peeps are an un-egg-pected surprise this year. I got my hands on some IMMEDIATELY for a taste-test, and am happy to report they are soooo tasty!
Trader Joe’s Marshmallow Eggs are the FIRST-EVER store-branded vegan Peeps to exist. While GoodMallow Peeps are the first-ever vegan Peeps dupe to hit retail, Trader Joe’s is the first to brand their own vegan Peeps. I’ve said it before, and I’ll never stop saying it: “What a time to be vegan!” TJ’s Vegan Peeps Eggs come in 3 colors: sunny yellow, vibrant spring green, and light lavender-purple. Each pack is priced at only $1.49, making them comparable to traditional Marshmallow Peeps (although the TJ’s eggs are 3 to a pack, and Just Born Peeps Chicks and Bunnies come in 4 and 5-packs).
By ingredients, these are a solid comparison to the GoodMallow Vegan Peeps that launched last week. The TJ’s Peeps are not labeled plant-based or vegan, but the ingredient list 2 is vegan-friendly if you are not concerned about their sugar or natural flavor sources (see bottom of post for full list of ingredients). Both GoodMallow and Trader Joe’s use a unique gelatin replacement- pea protein, and use the same natural sources for color. The taste comparison is a perfect match for the traditional Peeps I remember: crispy, sugary-coated, fluffy, and sweet.
The Trader Joe’s Marshmallow Eggs seem like they could be a white-labeled version of the GoodMallow Peeps from The Snackatere Inc. White-labeling is essentially when a manufacturer sells a company a product to brand as its own. (This is how you can go to stores like Walmart and find name brands and their in-house “Great Value” brand for the same products.) Trader Joe’s orders most of its products from third-party manufacturers who agree to sell the same or similar items under the TJ’s label. Trader Joe’s Marketing Director has confirmed that “More than 80 percent of the products we sell at Trader Joe’s are private-label. [This is because] Keeping things in our label as opposed to the brand name label or a supplier’s label helps us keep our costs low.” Does this really matter? No, but I find stuff like this fascinating!
I picked up my Trader Joe’s Vegan Marshmallow Peeps Eggs at my local TJ’s for $1.49 per 3-pack. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you, don’t fret! You can order GoodMallow Vegan Peeps online! Check out my post on GoodMallow here, with links to order.
Tell me, will you be stopping by Trader Joe’s to pick up some Vegan Marshmallow Peeps?
- Why aren’t traditional Peeps vegan? Marshmallows are usually made using an ingredient called “gelatin”, and Peeps are no exception. Gelatin is derived by boiling animal bones (or animal skin/ligaments) to produce a colorless, flavorless protein that can be used as a gelling agent in food and other products (beauty, medicine, technology). If you’re wondering, “Are Trader Joe’s Vegan Marshmallow Eggs Vegan?“, the answer is yes, based on ingredients, if you are not concerned about the sugar and natural flavor sources.
What is Gelatin? ↩︎ - Trader Joe’s Marshmallow Peeps Ingredients List: Tapioca Syrup, Sugar, Carrageenan, Hydrolyzed Pea Protein, Color Added (Vegetable Juice, Spirulina Extract, Tumeric), Water, Natural Flavors. ↩︎
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