Jelly Belly: History, Flavors & Trivia

Snack History Nostalgia Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

There are jelly beans, and then there are gourmet jelly beans. Jelly Belly is the gourmet jelly bean that was brought to life before any of those other crazy beans that are now on the market. They’ve thought of tons of flavors, and bring you fun and excitement with every little bean. 

Learn more about Jelly Belly’s history, ownership, and flavor options below! 

History

Jelly Belly is known as “the original gourmet jelly bean. They took traditional jelly beans, and brought out a ton of different flavors to change it up and make them far more fun and enjoyable. 

Even people who don’t care for traditional jelly beans can often find flavors they enjoy. They have colors from the rainbow, and a whole multitude of beans with multiple colors too. Every color reflects a special flavor, and you might even find multiple shades of certain colors for the variety of flavors that fit into that color palette. 

We will talk more about all those flavors later in this guide. 

Originally, The Jelly Belly Candy Company was known as Herman Goelitz Candy Company. The Goelitz Confectionery Company was the name prior to that as well. The original company was founded in the 1800s, with productions dating back to 1869. 

The US headquarters are located in Fairfield, California. They also have another plan in Chicago, Illinois, as well as Rayong, Thailand. This company is a worldwide company with international production and sales too. 

Gustav Goelitz originally began Goelitz Confectionery Company in 1869. He immigrated from Germany to the US just a couple of years before beginning the business. The initial candies created started with things like mellow creme candies and candy corn. Goelitz was very successful. 

Later, his son Herman, decided to branch off and begin his own business, which was the Herman Goelitz Candy Company. They set up shop in California and that is when jelly beans began through the company. This is when Jelly Bellies start to make a debut, although not officially yet. In 1965, Herman created a mini jelly bean with natural flavors. 

In fact, that mini jelly bean is known for having been sampled by Ronald Regan, and then being subsequently used by him to have candy on hand for meetings and events to use in place of smoking. 

In 1976, Herman and a collaborative partner, David Klein, decided to try mixing their mini jelly beans with purees that had natural flavor. And that is where the Jelly Belly was officially born. 

Klein came up with the name and he also came up with the design logo that we all know of Jelly Belly – that red bean with the yellow words is a classic logo that has been the same since the beginning with minimal changes to it. 

The very first Jelly Belly was sold in 1976, with a few flavors to choose from. They sold them in an ice cream parlor in California first. It didn’t take long for them to add numerous flavors to the mix, growing the brand to something much larger. In 1980, they sold the trademark. It was officially registered in 1982. 

In 1983, Mr. Jelly Belly was created. He was a jelly bean with legs designed into a character and a lot of fun. Even though President Reagan had been using Jelly Bellies for a while, it became widely known in the 1980s that this was his go-to candy. This may have helped contribute to popularity some, but the unique flavors and style was a huge factor too. 

The Jelly Belly was the first jelly bean to every make it to space, hitching a ride on the Challenger shuttle in 1983. It was in 2001 that the company was officially renamed to Jelly Belly Candy Company. 

Now, the company offers a huge variety of flavors, but they also offer other merchandise and some other products like chocolate, licorice, gummies, and more. 

Who Owns Jelly Belly Candy? 

Jelly Belly falls under its own company, the Jelly Belly Candy Company. Originally, ownership was through the Herman Goelitz Candy Company. However, in 2001, they created a company of its own. 

The Jelly Belly Candy Company is not under any other umbrella and is a private company. Herman Rowland continues to be the chairman for the company, and was an integral part of the initial creation of the Jelly Belly candy as well. 

When was Jelly Belly Invented? 

The first Jelly Belly that was actually this product was invented and sold in 1976. The innovators mixed together jelly beans with natural pureed mixes to create delicious flavors. 

Prior to the Jelly Belly, the company had mini jelly beans. So, they took the concept of a mini jelly bean and incorporated these natural flavors into them to create a host of delightful gourmet jelly beans that we know of today from the brand. 

They have always been known as the original gourmet jelly bean, and will forever be so. 

How Did Jelly Belly Get its Name? 

The concept behind the name chosen for this candy is really pretty fun. It was a creative invention from David Klein. He not only came up with the design and logo, but also the name. 

The name was chosen to tribute a blues musician known as Lead Belly. Klein used the concept of jelly, from the natural puree combinations used to flavor the jelly beans and added Belly to tribute the musician. It was also Klein that created the infamous logo and trademark that the brand is known for. 

That initial production has 8 flavors. They could be found in variety packs or purchased separately as flavors instead. You will still find these concepts in the products in candy stores and other locations today. 

Logo

Flavors

The list of flavors of Jelly Belly candies is pretty long. They have specialty flavors and a whole host of delicious everyday flavors too. You will find more than 50 flavors available on any given day. 

The original flavors launched with the brand were root beer, cream soda, licorice, grape, green apple, lemon, very cherry, and tangerine. Those are all still part of the lineup. Here is a list of the official flavors. 

• A&W Cream Soda
• A&W Root Beer
• Berry Blue
• Blueberry
• Bubble Gum
• Buttered Popcorn
• Cantaloupe
• Cappuccino
• Caramel Corn
• Chili Mango
• Chocolate Pudding
• Cinnamon
• Coconut
• Cotton Candy
• Crushed Pineapple
• Dr. Pepper
• French Vanilla
• Green Apple
• Island Punch
• Juicy Pear
• Kiwi
• Lemon Drop
• Lemon Lime
• Licorice (black licorice)
• Mango
• Margarita
• Mixed Berry Smoothie
• Orange Sherbet
• Peach
• Pina Colada
• Plum
• Pomegranate
• Raspberry
• Red Apple
• Sizzling Cinnamon
• Sour Cherry
• Strawberry Cheesecake
• Strawberry Daiquiri
• Strawberry Jam
• Sunkist Lemon
• Sunkist Lime
• Sunkist Orange
• Sunkist Pink Grapefruit
• Sunkist Tangerine
• Toasted Marshmallow
• Top Banana
• Tutti-Fruitti
• Very Cherry
• Watermelon
• Wild Blackberry

But that’s not all their flavors. These are the basic flavors you will find in variety packs or single packages. However, they have a whole host of specialty items too. 

Here are their different specialty categories. 

• Kids Mix Flavors
• Cold Stone Flavors
• BeanBoozled Fiery Five
• BeanBoozled 6^th Edition
• Harry Potter Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans
• Sunkist Citrus
• Superfruit Flavors
• Sours Flavors
• Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Flavors
• Soda Pop Shoppe Flavors
• Sport Beans Flavors
• Sugar-Free Flavors
• Jewel Jelly Beans Flavors
• Snapple Mix Flavors
• Cocktail Classics Flavors
• Tropical Mix Flavors

There is an entire collection of Harry Potter candy from the brand as well. In addition to all of the Jelly Belly flavors, the brand makes more than 50 other candies that are not jelly beans too. They have a variety of confections that are fun and flavorful. 

There are flavors for everyone and every preference to be found. 

Ingredients

• Sugar
• Glucose Syrup
• Modified Cornstarch
• Flavorings
• Acidity Regulators (E296 Malic Acid, E325 Sodium Lactate, E330 Citric Acid, E331 Sodium Citrates)
• Flavorings
• Blueberry Puree
• Strawberry Puree
• Colours (E100 Curcumin, E102 Tartrazine, E110 Sunset Yellow, E129 Allura Red, E132 Indigotine, E133 Brilliant Blue, E150d Sulphite Ammonia Caramel, E171 Titanium Dioxide)
• Lemon Puree
• Peach Puree Concentrate
• Strawberry Juice Concentrate
• Chocolate (Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier [E322 SOY Lecithin], Flavouring)
• Plum Juice Concentrate
• Banana Puree
• Lime Juice Concentrate
• Cocoa Powder
• Pear Juice Concentrate
• Orange Puree
• Passion Fruit Juice Concentrate
• Mango Puree
• Watermelon Juice Concentrate
• Coconut
• Tangerine Juice Concentrate
• Kiwi Juice Concentrate
• Pomegranate Juice Concentrate
• Cherry Juice Concentrate
• Apple Juice Concentrate
• Grapefruit Juice Concentrate
• Pineapple Juice Concentrate
• Antioxidants: Ascorbic Acid, Mango Juice Concentrate, Cantaloupe Powder, Freeze Dried Soluble Coffee, Salt, Concentrates (Apple, Hibiscus, Purple Carrot)
• Tapioca Dextrin
• Vanilla Beans
• Thickener (E414 Acacia Gum; Gum Arabic)
• Chocolate contains Cocoa Solids 35% Minimum

Nutrition

Serving Size:	20 small (22g)	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	83
Calories from Fat	0.1
Total Fat	0g	0%
Saturated Fat	0g	0%
Polyunsaturated Fat	0g
Monounsaturated Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg	0%
Sodium	11mg	0%
Potassium	8.1mg	0%
Total Carbohydrates	21g	7%
Dietary Fiber	0g	0%
Sugars	15g
Protein	0g
Vitamin A		0%
Vitamin C		0%
Calcium		0.1%
Iron		0.2%

• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet.

Pictures

Commercials

Conclusion

The Jelly Belly history is a long one, but they created an innovative product that brings people a lot of fun. This brand is a worldwide brand, and they created something like no other. They have a lot of really great flavors, and they use a natural puree to create them all. 

Fun and simple treats with tasty creations that could bring a smile to anyone’s day! 

FAQ