Lined up in spongy rows of five, they stare blankly out of little yellow cardboard boxes, signaling the beginning of the Easter candy season.

"This is an item that transcends all others. It's sold everywhere from supermarkets to garden stores-it's truly an Easter icon," says John S. Riveroll, marketing manager of Just Born Inc. in Bethlehem, Pa., his tongue firmly in cheek.

He's speaking, of course, of Peeps, those ubiquitous, pastel-colored marshmallow baby chicks with dots for eyes. They seemingly have been around forever but understandably don't get big press, even though 400 million of them will be consumed this season, up considerably from 250 million in 1988. Along with their less-popular brethren Bunnies, also made by Just Born, these squishy confections have been the megastars of the marshmallow novelty market for decades.

This year, however, Peeps have something to chirp about: It's the first time a new color-lavender-will be worn by the normally yellow, pink or white chickies since 1953, when Just Born bought the company from its original owners.

"This is a big deal," Riveroll confirms, though it's not as momentous as mechanizing the marshmallow line in 1955.

That revolutionized the industry, explains Just Born's unofficial Peeps historian, community relations and communications manager Marilyn Mazer. Batches of Peeps originally were produced by the Rodda Co. of Lancaster, Pa., in a rather laborious fashion, requiring 27 hours of gelatin-setting and intensive handwork by 80 Pennsylvania Dutch farm women.

"They were hardy folk who could squeeze out these Peeps through large pastry tubes. It was very arduous work and I've been told their hands would swell to twice their size," says Mazer, adding that her information, somewhat hazy because of Rodda's poor record keeping, may be the stuff of legend, rather than fact. "Then they would soak their hands in cold water and come back the next morning and do this all over again."

When it bought Rodda, Just Born was already producing handmade chocolates, Hot Tamales and Mike and Ike candies. Rightly assuming the Peeps makers would never leave their farms in Lancaster, and deducing that few folks from Bethlehem would be lining up to do the work, Just Born clearly needed a more economical way to put out Peeps. It slogged along with less meticulous locals for two years while it found ways to automate the process, although the recipe is still similar to the original.

"Peeps used to have wings," Mazer reminisces. "At some point there was a little technical problem and some lots went out without wings. It was discovered that they were as popular, if not more so, than the ones that had the wings."

Mazer says the new lavender color is a big hit, and denies the selection of purple has anything to do with that other ubiquitous figure, Barney. "Maybe there's some kind of unconscious association in there. Are we supposed to like Barney? Well, it can only help," she says.

She sees Peeps for what they are: "Cute, gentle, innocent-looking things. I think that's what really connects them so nicely to Easter."

Among Peeps eaters, there are two distinct camps: those who prefer stale Peeps, and those who like them fresh. "Our totally unofficial statistic is that 30 percent of people seem to like to eat them stale. Then they can bite off the head and get that little snap," Mazer says.

She prefers them hot out of the oven. Of course, she can grab them right off the conveyor belt, another reason she and Riveroll appreciate their jobs this time of year.

"I guess a lot of foods you can't really have a whole lot of fun with," she says, "but Peeps, you can sort of yuk it up all the time."