Jelly Belly Factory Tours

Jelly Belly creator sour over lost legacy but sweet on future

LOS ANGELES — His hair is disheveled; his red polo shirt stained. He's prone to shuffling when he walks and wears an oversized cowboy hat embroidered with jelly beans.

"Now who here likes candy?" he asks, his voice both raspy and childish.

The group of preschoolers who arrived with their mothers stare at the peculiar stranger and realize he is speaking their language.

David Klein leads the way through his small Covina, Calif., factory, where giant bags of dextrose and malic acid line the hall.

As he points out the barrels of powdery sugar "sand," he tosses chewy sour balls, licorice wands dipped in sugar nuggets and candy shaped like sushi into the children's plastic sacks.

It's the tame end of Klein's inventory — around him are specimen cups brimming with lemon-flavored candy urine, anatomically correct gummy hearts that gush cherry-flavored "blood" and fruity sugar pebbles called "Farts" — fare that he sells wholesale.

Midway through the tour, Klein stops and his tone shifts. He can't resist.

"Does anybody know what candy I created a long time ago?"

They wait.

"Jelly. Belly. Jelly beans."

An awed ooh is the response from the mothers who know well the confection that had America falling in love.

And then come the confused looks.

The man who inspired the Jelly Belly empire is now in this no-frills candy factory, giving midday $5 tours to stay-at-home moms and their tots?

The way Klein tells it, it's a frustrating tale of a legacy lost.

Now, years out of the limelight, he's convinced a comeback is right around the corner, arriving in the shape of that old friend: the jelly bean.

But this will be no ordinary bean. So spectacular and scrumptious, he believes, it's bound to turn a foray gone bitter into something marvelously sweet.

— — —

They once were unremarkable globs of pectin coated in sugar, known for their ability to last for months in candy dishes.

In the spring, they surfaced to line the bottoms of Easter baskets. The rest of the time, they lived a life as simple penny candy.

Then, in 1976, Klein was living in Temple City, Calif., and working as a distributor for Garvey Nut & Candy when he dreamed up a mini version with shells and insides that would burst with flavors like cream soda and watermelon — exotic at the time. It would be marketed as a gourmet treat and sell for $2 a pound, a costly sum for a jelly bean.

Fun Family Activity - tour Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield ...

As you walk in the door, you are greeted by a waiting area for the free factory tours, which start every 15-20 minutes. My recommendation is to catch the tour during the week, when the factory is in production, because it is more interesting. The weekend tours are good, and the accompanying video is informative, but it is fun to watch the place in action. The line moves pretty fast, I think each tour takes about 50 people. When it is your turn, you don a jaunty paper hat and walk up the stairs to meet your guide.

The tour travels along a hallway catwalk above the factory floor. At intervals, you stop and watch a video with information about the particular step in the process. Samples are available along the way, and at the end each tour participant receives their own bag of Jelly Belly beans to take home. My favorite bit from the tour was the synchronized robot dance set to Sugar, Sugar by the Archies.

The factory offers many options for shopping. Start with a run through the tasting bar where visitors are invited to sample up to three different Jelly Belly beans. Or take the Jelly Belly challenge with a friend and ask for one of the Bean Boozled pairs – Jelly Belly beans that look alike, but are vastly different. Like chocolate pudding and canned dog food. Definitely designed for those with adventurous palates!

In the shop, you can find all sorts of great combinations, including my favorite, the cocktail collection. You can also buy beans by the pound so you can make your favorite mix. And other candies from Goelitz are sold as well, including candy corn (many different holiday versions), Sunkist fruit gems, and a collection of discontinued flavors available in the outlet shop.

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