Jelly Belly
Gourmet jelly beans made in Fairfield, California by a confectioner founded in 1898
🇺🇸 American Manufacturing
Our assessment
Company details
How Jelly Belly beans are made
Fairfield, California
The original and largest plant makes the core US-market beans, including the Original 49 Flavors. It is also a working tourist destination, with a visitor centre and museum on site.
Seven to fourteen days
Each bean is built by panning — repeated cycles of coating, flavouring and drying that layer the shell onto a soft centre. A single batch takes one to two weeks, which is why the process resisted full automation.
The Thailand plant
A 50,000 sq ft facility in Rayong, Thailand, opened in 2008, supplies roughly 55 international markets and produces specialty lines including BeanBoozled. This is the reason the brand carries a qualified origin tier here.
Jelly Belly is a genuinely mixed-origin brand and we label it accordingly. The flagship Original Gourmet Jelly Beans carry a Made in the USA claim from the Fairfield plant, while BeanBoozled and international product are made in Rayong, Thailand. Because a major line is produced overseas, the correct tier is American Manufacturing, not Made in USA — check the pack for the line you are buying.
The story
The company dates to 1898 and the Goelitz family’s confectionery business, with candy-making by the family going back to 1869. For most of its history it traded as Herman Goelitz, Inc. and made candy corn and traditional sweets rather than the product it is now famous for.
The Jelly Belly bean itself arrived in 1976: smaller than a conventional jelly bean, flavoured through both the shell and the centre, and sold as a gourmet product rather than a bulk one. It reshaped the category and famously became a fixture of the Reagan White House.
The Fairfield, California factory and its visitor centre grew into a Northern California destination in their own right, with self-guided tours and an on-site museum built around the manufacturing process.
In November 2023, after decades of Goelitz family ownership, Jelly Belly was acquired by Chicago-based Ferrara Candy Company, part of Italy’s Ferrero Group. Ferrara closed the North Chicago plant in 2024 and has been consolidating corporate functions, though Fairfield remains the flagship manufacturing and visitor site.
Why they matter
Jelly Belly ran a labour-intensive, slow, small-batch confectionery process at a single California factory through a period when most of the industry chased speed and cheaper production abroad. Fairfield is still an operating US plant and employer.
The brand is also a useful test of how we label things. It would be easy to badge a company this iconic as Made in USA and move on — but a significant line is made in Thailand, and readers deserve the distinction on the shelf.
The Fairfield visitor centre does something few manufacturers still do: it shows the public how the product is actually made. That kind of visible, tourable American manufacturing is worth more to the argument than any marketing claim.
Shop Jelly Belly products
The Jelly Belly range on the Buy American Store is built around the Original Gourmet Jelly Beans and the classic flavour assortments — the lines produced at the Fairfield, California plant.
Jelly Belly: questions we get asked
Are Jelly Belly jelly beans made in the USA?
The Original 49 Flavors and other core US-market beans are made at the Fairfield, California factory and carry a Made in the USA label. Specialty lines such as BeanBoozled and all international product are made at the company’s plant in Rayong, Thailand.
Who owns Jelly Belly now?
Ferrara Candy Company, a US subsidiary of Italy’s Ferrero Group, acquired Jelly Belly in November 2023, ending decades of Goelitz family ownership.
How long does it take to make a Jelly Belly bean?
Seven to fourteen days. The panning process builds flavour, colour and shine in successive layers, and it cannot be meaningfully rushed.
Can you tour the Jelly Belly factory?
Yes. The Fairfield, California site has a self-guided visitor centre, an on-site museum and event space.