40 Fun Facts About Jelly Beans

Which habit had Ronald Reagan given up when he turned to eating jelly beans as a substitute?

Smoking gave way to popping candy, and Reagan was hooked once the Goelitz company sent him its mini jelly beans.

Which book series inspired Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, with flavors such as Vomit, Earwax and Rotten Egg?

Harry Potter's wizarding sweet became a real Jelly Belly product, complete with intentionally gruesome flavors such as Grass.

Which Space Shuttle carried Ronald Reagan's gift of Jelly Belly beans in 1983, the first jelly beans in space?

Challenger carried the beans on mission STS-7 as a surprise for the astronauts, a crew that included Sally Ride, America's first woman in space.

Which holiday did jelly beans first become associated with in the United States during the 1930s?

Easter claimed the jelly bean because of its egg-like shape, decades after the sweet first appeared in the 19th century.

Which NBA star got his middle name, Bean, from his father Joe's playing nickname of Jellybean?

Kobe Bryant was Kobe Bean Bryant in full, with a first name his father took from the Japanese beef he saw on a restaurant menu.

Which Jelly Belly flavor launched in 1989 as the first savory jelly bean and became an instant sensation?

Buttered Popcorn proved more than a novelty, climbing to first place among the brand's flavors by 1998.

Which pop star's first international top ten hit, Holiday, was produced by DJ John 'Jellybean' Benitez?

Madonna met Benitez at the Funhouse, and his sister had nicknamed him Jellybean because his initials are J.B.

Which Halloween treat did the Goelitz family firm make from 1898, long before it was renamed Jelly Belly?

Candy corn was a Goelitz specialty for decades, and the firm did not take the Jelly Belly name until 2001.

Which band did American fans pelt with jelly beans in 1964 after reports that its guitarist liked Jelly Babies?

The Beatles had George Harrison to thank: British fans threw soft Jelly Babies at him, and Americans copied them with much harder jelly beans.

Which Louisiana hot sauce brand has been licensed for a Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor?

Tabasco comes from the McIlhenny Company of Avery Island in southern Louisiana, and it sits beside egg nog among Jelly Belly's specialty flavors.

Which 2020 battle royale game sends crowds of jellybean-like characters through obstacle-course mini-games?

Fall Guys fans simply call the characters beans, and developer Mediatonic set out to recreate the feel of being on a TV game show.

On which aircraft was a holder designed so Ronald Reagan's jar of Jelly Belly beans would not spill in turbulence?

Air Force One carried the beans wherever the president flew, and they were also served in the Oval Office.

Which fruit flavor of Jelly Belly bean was created specially for Ronald Reagan's presidential inauguration in 1981?

Blueberry was invented for the occasion, and more than three tons of Jelly Belly beans were eaten during the festivities.

Which candy did Ronald Reagan start to favor over jelly beans as the official White House candy in his final year?

M&M's won him over in his eighth year in office, although Jelly Belly had supplied him with beans throughout his presidency.

Which blues musician's stage name inspired the brand name coined in 1976 for a new line of gourmet jelly beans?

Lead Belly, who styled himself King of the Twelve-String Guitar, gave the Jelly Belly brand its rhyming name as a tribute.

Which code name did Android adopt in 2013 for the version that directly followed Jelly Bean?

KitKat replaced the planned name Key Lime Pie after Google's team decided too few people knew what that dessert tasted like.

Which Jazz Age author's 1920 short story The Jelly-Bean took its title from slang for a stylish young man?

F. Scott Fitzgerald later collected the tale in Tales of the Jazz Age, the same book that holds The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Which older sweet is thought to have inspired the jelly bean's chewy center?

Turkish delight is credited with the idea for the soft middle, and the White Witch uses the same sweet to win over Edmund in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Which Jelly Belly game pairs lookalike jelly beans that might taste of Sweet Peach or of Barf?

BeanBoozled also hides Stink Bug behind Toasted Marshmallow and Burnt Rubber behind Licorice, so players never know which bean they have picked.

How long does it take to make a single Jelly Belly jelly bean, from cooking the center to polishing?

7–21 days is the official figure, because the centers must set in their molds and the beans rest again after their shells are built up.

What has Jelly Belly stamped on every one of its jelly beans since 1996 as a mark of quality?

Its name goes only on beans that pass inspection: batches are checked by hand for flavor, shape and size before they earn the stamp.

In what kind of shop were the first Jelly Belly beans sold in 1976, from a rented corner in Alhambra?

An ice cream parlor called Fosselman's hosted the launch, and the first week's takings came to only $44.

Which red Jelly Belly flavor was the brand's most popular for two decades, until 1998?

Very Cherry lost the top spot that year but won it back in 2003 by a margin of 8 million beans.

Which stimulant does Jelly Belly add to Extreme Sport Beans to set them apart from regular Sport Beans?

Caffeine is the extra kick; ordinary Sport Beans rely on carbohydrates and electrolytes to fuel athletes.

What kind of plant is Sedum rubrotinctum, nicknamed the jelly bean plant for the shape of its short leaves?

A succulent that also goes by pork and beans, it has green leaves that turn red in summer as a protective adaptation.

Which US agency's 1994 jelly bean rule stopped foods being labeled healthy merely for being low in fat?

The FDA rule said a food low in fat, cholesterol and sodium still could not be called healthy unless it supplied at least 10 percent of the daily value of a key nutrient.

Which Archie Comics character has a younger sister, Forsythia, who goes by the nickname Jellybean?

Jughead Jones is really named Forsythe, like his father, and his sister Jellybean was added to the family in later comics.

Which Pennsylvania candy maker, famous for Peeps and Mike and Ike, has also made Teenee Beanee jelly beans?

Just Born was founded by Sam Born, a Russian immigrant who is also credited with inventing chocolate sprinkles.

In which 1989 NES game does the hero feed flavored jelly beans to an alien companion to change its shape?

A Boy and His Blob turns each flavor into a tool: licorice makes a ladder and vanilla an umbrella, and the whole game was built in about six weeks.

From which country did Gustav Goelitz emigrate in 1866 before founding the candy firm that became Jelly Belly?

Germany was his homeland, and three years after arriving he opened a confectionery business in Belleville, Illinois, at the age of 24.

In which country alone does the carnauba palm grow, the source of a wax used to coat some jelly beans?

Brazil's northeast is its only home, and workers dry and beat the palm's leaves to loosen what is known as the queen of waxes.

Which gelling agent, better known for setting jams, is listed among the basic ingredients of jelly beans?

Pectin is extracted commercially from citrus fruits, and in jelly beans it can be swapped for starch.

Roughly how many Jelly Belly beans make up the portrait of Ronald Reagan that hangs in his presidential library?

10,000 beans went into the portrait at Simi Valley, and each mosaic in the company's Bean Art Gallery takes roughly 100 hours to build.

To which California city did Jelly Belly move in 1986, opening its factory doors to public tours?

Fairfield replaced Oakland, where Herman Goelitz had settled his candy business in 1924, and free public tours began soon after the move.

Which Chicago-based candy company, maker of Nerds and Lemonheads, acquired Jelly Belly in 2023?

Ferrara had itself been bought by the Ferrero Group in 2017, and the deal joined two firms with more than 250 years of combined history.

Which candy and nut distributor dreamed up the Jelly Belly bean in 1976 and once called himself Mr. Jelly Belly?

David Klein and a partner sold their rights to the brand in 1980, taking the money in monthly payments spread over 20 years.

Which insect secretes the resin in confectioner's glaze, used with beeswax to polish Jelly Belly beans?

The lac bug leaves its resin on trees in India and Thailand, and the same substance, shellac, is used to finish wood.

Which cocktail became the first alcoholic drink turned into a Jelly Belly flavor, back in 1977?

Mai Tai opened the bar in 1977; margarita, mojito and piña colada beans followed, and every one of them is alcohol-free.

Which Minneapolis band, seen in the Prince film Graffiti Bridge, had Jellybean Johnson as its drummer?

The Time put Johnson alongside famed producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and in 2022 he founded the Minneapolis Sound Museum.

Which singer's 2011 stop-motion music video In Your Arms was animated with 288,000 donated jelly beans?

Kina Grannis had Jelly Belly to thank for the beans, which came in 47 different flavors.