Jelly Belly

Jelly Belly Candy Company, formerly known as Herman Goelitz Candy Company and Goelitz Confectionery Company, manufactures Jelly Belly jelly beans and other candy. The company is based in Fairfield, California, with a second manufacturing facility in North Chicago, Illinois and a distribution center in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. In October 2008 the company opened a 50,000 sq ft (4,645 m²) manufacturing plant in Rayong, Thailand where it produces confectionery for the international market.

History

1898–1910

Jelly Belly Candy Company, manufacturer of Jelly Belly jelly beans and a wide range of confections, is a family owned and operated business now in its sixth generation of candy making. The family traces its roots to Gustav Goelitz, who came to the United States in 1866. He built a successful confectionery business: Gustav Goelitz Candy, in Belleville, Illinois. Gustav Goelitz younger brothers, Albert and George, emigrated to America a few years later joining the family business. The Goelitz name developed a reputation for quality confections as the brothers expanded operations and by 1898 were specializing in candy corn and other “buttercream” candies, a new type of candy. The second generation of candy makers moved to North Chicago opening the Goelitz Confectionery Company plant in 1913.