Table of Contents
FAIRFIELD, Calif. — Jelly Belly Candy Co. is entering the organic snack category.
The company said Wednesday that it’s introducing Organic Jelly Beans and Organic Fruit Flavored Snacks. The jelly beans are due to hit store shelves this winter, and the fruit-flavored snacks are available now.
Both USDA-certified organic, the Organic Jelly Beans and Organic Fruit Flavored Snacks are made with non-GMO ingredients and with colors and flavors from natural sources, according to Jelly Belly. In addition, the products are vegetarian, certified OU kosher and free of gelatin, gluten, fat and dairy.
The Organic Jelly Beans come in 10 assorted flavors (apple, berry, blueberry, cherry, coconut, lemon, orange, peach, pear and strawberry) and in five sour flavors (apple, cherry, lemon, orange and berry). Organic Fruit Flavored Snacks come in bags with a mix of six fruit flavors (strawberry, berry, lemon, apple, orange and cherry). Jelly Belly said the line will also include a rainforest animal design packaged in boxes, with six individual-serving bags in a variety of mixes for lunchboxes, travel and individual snacking.
“Consumers are interested in a wide variety of organic food products,” stated Rob Swaigen, vice president of global marketing for Jelly Belly. “The organic category has steadily grown for the last decade, and we are excited to meet this growing demand with organic gourmet confections and snacks.”
In a video (see above) on the new product line, Jelly Belly president and chief executive officer Lisa Rowland Brasher noted that today’s consumers expect to have organic options. “We know that organic is not just a trend anymore; it’s a lifestyle. And we want to participate in that lifestyle,” she said.
It also took some extra effort to be able to make the organic products, according to Jeff Brown, Jelly Belly’s vice president of operations and distribution. “To create an organic product line was very challenging,” he said in the video. “In fact, to do so, we had to dedicate an entire factory in North Chicago, Illinois, just for our organic product line.”
Added Ambrose Lee, research and development manager, “I really enjoyed working on this organic project. We ran into a lot of challenges, but in the end we were able to produce a wonderful product.”
