How Are Jelly Bellies Made?

Flavor Creation

Jelly Belly ingredients

The creation of Jelly Bellies jelly-bean candies begins in the company lab. Chemists experiment by mixing the basic ingredients of jelly beans--which are food starches, sugar and corn syrup--with minor ingredients like emulsifiers and glazes. Then, they test various flavor ideas by adding flavoring to make small batches. The flavor ideas are chosen based on test-market research. Once the test flavors of Jelly Bellies are ready, they are sent into limited test-market areas for people to taste for a limited period of time. If feedback from these test consumers proves positive, the flavor is added to the product line and moves on to the manufacturing process.

Cooking

Jelly Belly manufacturing floor

The Jelly Belly centers are made by dissolving the ingredients in large cooker vats until they become syrup. The syrup is boiled until the desired temperature and consistency are reached. The flavoring and colors are then piped into the vats and mixed well with the syrup. The finished syrup is kept at liquid stage awaiting the next step.

Starch Casting

Drying Jellie Bellies

Starch casting is the process that forms the traditional jelly-bean shape, although it is a little smaller than others, in keeping with Jelly Bellies' unique design. The first machine spreads dry corn starch into large trays that hold hundreds of jelly beans. Then a machine die-punches into the cornstarch, creating a mold. The waiting liquid-hot syrup is then squirted into these dry corn-starch molds. Afterward, the trays of candy are sent to a drying room to allow time for the syrup to harden in the molds.

Panning

Adding Flavoring

After drying, the jelly beans are dumped from the molds into large, stainless-steel pans. This process, called panning, is when the jelly beans obtain their hard, glazed candy shell. The pans are circular or shaped somewhat like a globe. They are hooked to a rotating mechanism that spins them while the last ingredients are added.

Sugaring

Ready to ship

While the jelly beans are spinning, sugar and more of the flavoring syrup are poured into the panning globe. As the candy spins, more and more of the sugar and syrup bond, and eventually cover the candy. The final addition to the spinning Jelly Bellies is a glaze that is added once the hard covering is completed. After glazing, the candies are packaged according to flavor and distributed to retailers across the country--and to the Jelly Bellies gift shop.

Resources

• Official Jelly Belly Website
• Jelly Belly Flavor Guides
• The Jelly Belly History