Jelly Belly Candy Company, formerly known as Herman Goelitz Candy Company and Goelitz Confectionery Company, is an American company that manufactures Jelly Belly

jelly bean Jelly beans are small bean shaped sugar candies with soft candy shells and thick gel interiors (see gelatin and jelly). The confection is primarily made of sugar and sold in a wide variety of colors and flavors. History It has been clai ...

s and other

candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...

. The company is based in

Fairfield, California Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Solano County, California, in the North Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is generally considered the midpoint between the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento, approximately fro ...

, with a second manufacturing facility in

North Chicago, Illinois North Chicago is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 30,759 at the 2020 census making it the 2nd largest city by population in the county, after Waukegan. North Chica ...

. A distribution and visitor center in

Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin Pleasant Prairie is a village in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Kenosha County along the southwestern shoreline of Lake Michigan, Pleasant Prairie was home to 21,250 people at the 2020 census. The village is positioned directly south o ...

, began liquidation and closure on August 3, 2020. In October 2008, the company opened a manufacturing plant in

Rayong Rayong ( th, ระยอง, ) is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand and the capital of Rayong province. It covers tambons Tha Pradu and Pak Nam and parts of ''tambons'' Choeng Noen and Noen Phra, all within ...

, Thailand, where it produces confections for the international market.

History

1866–1913

Gustav Goelitz came to the United States in 1866 from Germany and in 1869 started the confectionery business Gustav Goelitz in

Belleville, Illinois Belleville is a city and the county seat of St. Clair County, Illinois, coterminous with the now defunct Belleville Township. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. The p ...

. His younger brothers, Albert and George, emigrated to America soon after joining him in the business. In 1898, the company began manufacturing mellowcreme candies (also called mellow cream, and butter cream).

Candy corn Candy corn is a type of small, pyramid-shaped candy, typically divided into three sections of different colors, with a waxy texture and a flavor based on honey, sugar, butter, and vanilla. It is a staple candy of the fall season and Halloween ...

, a type of mellowcreme candy, was likely developed by George Renniger, an employee of Wunderlee Candy Company in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. The Goelitz Confectionery Company was successful in selling a variety of mellowcreme candy including candy corn. In 1904, the company relocated to

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and later to North Chicago in 1913.

1913–1980

Herman Goelitz, the son of Gustav, moved to the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

to start his own business, Herman Goelitz Candy Company. The company eventually settled in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

in 1924. In the 1960s, the company began to expand the product line to include jelly beans, various jells, and other confections. "One of those new products was a small and very flavorful Mini Jelly Bean eveloped in 1965" The Mini Jelly Bean center had natural flavoring and the inside and outer shell was flavored, which was innovative for the time.

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

first tried the Mini Jelly Beans in 1966. "The then California governor had quit smoking years before and turned to popping candy as a...substitute." Reagan wrote to Herman Rowland Sr. while governor, "It's gotten to the point...where we can hardly start a meeting or make a decision without passing around a jar of jelly beans. We owe you a special measure of thanks for helping keep our state government running smoothly." In 1976, David Klein, a candy and nut distributor, collaborated with Herman Rowland, president of Herman Goelitz to create a jelly bean using natural purees. David Klein hired the Goelitz company as his contract manufacturer for the jelly beans. Using the Mini Jelly Bean concept, the Jelly Belly jelly bean was created. Klein coined the name "Jelly Belly" as a tribute to blues musician

Lead Belly Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guita ...

, and was responsible for the design of the product's famous red and yellow trademark. Klein sold the first Jelly Belly jelly beans in 1976 at an ice cream parlor called Fosselman's in

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from " Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains t ...

. The first flavors were Very Cherry, Tangerine, Lemon, Green Apple, Grape, Licorice, Root Beer, and Cream Soda. It was David Klein's idea "to sell them as separate flavors instead of a variety pack...".

1980–present

Marinus van Dam Marinus van Dam (October 24, 1929 – January 6, 1997) was one of the first employees at The Herman Goelitz Candy Company. He is considered by some sources to have been the inventor of the jelly belly jelly bean. Marinus van Dam was born in O ...

, product developer and plant manager for the company, oversaw the development of Jelly Belly jelly beans. By the 1980s, many flavors had been developed. In 1980, Klein sold the Jelly Belly trademark. "David Klein sold the Jelly Belly trademark to Rowland for $4.8 million, paid in monthly installments over 20 years, which Klein split with a partner." The Jelly Belly trademark was registered August 3, 1982. The Mr. Jelly Belly character was developed in 1983. Prior to the development of the character David Klein called himself "Mr. Jelly Belly." The general public became aware of President

's preference for Jelly Belly jelly beans in 1981. The company supplied Reagan with Jelly Belly jelly beans during his eight years of presidency. Chairman Rowland recalls, "We were thrilled by press reports that President Reagan gave jars of Jelly Belly jelly beans to visiting dignitaries." (Reagan, however, "started to favor M&M's as the official White House candy during his eighth and final year in office.") Reagan made them the first jelly beans in space, sending them on the

Space Shuttle Challenger Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' (OV-099) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the commanding ship of a nineteenth-century scientific expedition that traveled the world, ''Challenge ...

during the

STS-7 STS-7 was NASA's seventh Space Shuttle mission, and the second mission for the Space Shuttle ''Challenger''. During the mission, ''Challenger'' deployed several satellites into orbit. The shuttle launched from Kennedy Space Center on June 18, ...

mission in 1983, surprising the astronauts. In 2001, the company renamed itself to Jelly Belly Candy Company.

Products

Jelly beans

The company's signature product, the Jelly Belly jelly bean, comes in more than 50 varieties ranging from traditional flavors like

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

, lemon lime, and very cherry, to more exotic ones like

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...

cappuccino A cappuccino (; ; Italian plural: ''cappuccini'') is an espresso-based coffee drink that originated in Austria and was later popularized in Italy and is prepared with steamed milk foam (microfoam). Variations of the drink involve the use of cre ...

buttered popcorn "Buttered Popcorn" is a 1961 song written by Motown president Berry Gordy and songwriter Barney Ales, produced by Gordy, and released as a Motown, Tamla label single by Motown singing group The Supremes. It was the group's second single after sign ...

, and chili-mango. Jelly Belly Candy Company manufactures numerous specialty Jelly Belly jelly beans with licensed products like

Tabasco sauce Tabasco is an American brand of hot sauce made from vinegar, tabasco peppers (''Capsicum frutescens'' var. ''tabasco''), and salt. It is produced by McIlhenny Company of Avery Island in south Louisiana, having been created over 150 years ago by ...

and uncommon candy tastes like

egg nog Eggnog (), historically also known as a milk punch or an egg milk punch when alcoholic beverages are added, is a rich, chilled, sweetened, dairy-based beverage. It is traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and whipped egg whites ...

and pancakes with maple syrup. A few flavors such as

lychee Lychee (US: ; UK: ; ''Litchi chinensis''; ) is a Monotypic taxon, monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus ''Litchi'' in the Sapindus, soapberry family, ''Sapindaceae''. It is a tropical tree native to Southeast and Southwest China (t ...

and

green tea Green tea is a type of tea that is made from '' Camellia sinensis'' leaves and buds that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process which is used to make oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China, and since the ...

, are sold only in markets outside the United States. Several flavors have been based on popular alcoholic beverages, beginning with

Mai Tai The Mai Tai is a cocktail made of rum, Curaçao liqueur, orgeat syrup, and lime juice. It is one of the characteristic cocktails in Tiki culture. History Victor J. Bergeron claimed to have invented the Mai Tai in 1944 at his restaurant, Trader ...

in 1977. Over the years, new additions have included strawberry daiquiri,

margarita A margarita is a cocktail consisting of Tequila, triple sec, and lime juice often served with salt on the rim of the glass. The drink is served shaken with ice (on the rocks), blended with ice (frozen margarita), or without ice (straight up). T ...

mojito Mojito (; ) is a traditional Cuban punch. The cocktail often consists of five ingredients: white rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime juice, soda water, and mint. Its combination of sweetness, citrus, and herbaceous mint flavors is ...

, and

piña colada The piña colada (; es, piña , "pineapple", and , "strained") is a cocktail made with rum, cream of coconut or coconut milk, and pineapple juice, usually served either blended or shaken with ice. It may be garnished with either a pineapple w ...

. Draft beer, a flavor inspired by

Hefeweizen Wheat beer is a top-fermented beer which is brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley. The two main varieties are German ''Weizenbier'' and Belgian ''witbier''; other types include Lambic (made with wild ye ...

ale, was introduced in 2014. All flavors are entirely alcohol-free. "Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans" were inspired by the ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' book series and featured intentionally gruesome flavors such as "Vomit", "Earwax", "Skunk Spray", "Rotten Egg" and "Grass". A similar product dubbed "BeanBoozled" pairs lookalike "normal" flavors with weird flavors, such as "Peach" and "Barf". "Sport Beans" are jelly beans designed to provide physical energy and enhance athletic performance. They contain carbohydrates, electrolytes (in the form of sodium and potassium), and vitamins B1, B2, B3 and C. "Extreme Sport Beans" include the additional boost of caffeine.

Other candies

The company makes over 100 different confections including

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

licorice Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) ( ; also ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted. The liq ...

gummies Gummies, gummi candies, gummy candies, or jelly sweets are a broad category of gelatin-based chewable sweets. Gummi bears, Sour Patch Kids, and Jelly Babies are widely popular and are a well-known part of the sweets industry. Gummies are availab ...

, and

candy corn Candy corn is a type of small, pyramid-shaped candy, typically divided into three sections of different colors, with a waxy texture and a flavor based on honey, sugar, butter, and vanilla. It is a staple candy of the fall season and Halloween ...

Facilities

Jelly Belly Visitor's Center and factory

The company operates three manufacturing plants in

;

; and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. A fourth facility in

, was a

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations * Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...

center and a visitor center until liquidation began on August 3, 2020; it closed.

Gallery

Jelly Belly Candy Company factory in Fairfield, California

File:JellyBellyFactoryEntranceInside.JPG, Beginning of factory tour File:JellyBellyfactorydecorations.JPG, Factory decorations File:Tumblers at the Jelly Belly factory.gk.jpg, Tumblers used to apply coatings to the beans File:Stock at the Jelly Belly factory.gk.jpg, Bins of stock on the factory floor

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 1524107, Candyman: The David Klein Story David Klein tells his story about the development of the Jelly Belly jelly bean. Brand name confectionery Companies based in Solano County, California Fairfield, California Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area Food and drink companies established in 1869 1869 establishments in Illinois Candy Manufacturing companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Confectionery companies based in California