You know about Jelly Belly Jelly Beans, right? They are popular for their bright colors and intense natural flavors. They come in 50 official flavors ranging from Very Cherry to Toasted Marshmallow to Jalapeno and everything in between.

You can learn about the nine-step process to make all those jelly beans, plus other candies like chocolate, taffy and Gummi Bears, by visiting the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, California, within an hour’s drive of Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, and Napa Valley. Free 40 minute, wheel chair and stroller accessible, tours start every 15 minutes, Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4 pm.

A Jelly Belly guide will lead your tour group along an enclosed walkway that overlooks the factory floor. Through big windows and video screens at each viewing point you’ll have a direct look into the step being discussed, from stirring the flavoring into the huge drums used to make the Jelly Belly centers to the robotic arms that load the packaged goods on to pallets for shipping all over the United States and to 46 other countries.

You’ll learn about the history of the Goelitz family that’s been making candy for four generations, including the Halloween popular, orange and white, Candy Corn and that the unique Jelly Belly jelly beans were invented in 1976, in just a few flavors like Very Cherry, Lemon, Tangerine, Licorice, Root beer, Cream Soda and Green Apple.

If you didn’t know already, you’ll learn that former President Ronald Reagan loved jelly beans. In fact, the blueberry flavored Jelly Belly was created especially for his January 1981 inauguration party so a mixture of red, white and blue jelly beans could be offered to his guests. Reportedly, Jelly Belly shipped 3.5 tons of their jelly beans to Washington D.C. for the event. That’s a lot of jelly beans!

You’ll learn lots of other interesting details like how flavors are tested and what a Jelly Belly Rookie Flavor and a Belly Flop are. The guides are very helpful and happy to answer any questions you have about their “beans” too.
After the tour, and some might say this is the best part, you can visit the sample bar where you are encouraged to try all the Jelly Belly jean bean flavors and maybe mix different flavors to create to create your own new favorite. For example if you like chocolate covered cherries eat a Very Cherry and a Chocolate Pudding Jelly Belly together.

Once you’ve identified your favorites, you’ll be tempted to visit the Jelly Belly Candy Store – an amazing display of bright colorful candy delights. The store includes an old-fashioned chocolate shoppe where you can watch dark and milk chocolate candy clusters, truffles and more being made.

Before you leave the Visitor Center, take a quick tour of the Jelly Belly Bean Art Gallery and admire some of the Jelly Belly fleet of vehicles that might be on display.

Visit Jellybelly.com for more information about Fairfield Factory tours, operating hours, special events and other fun stuff. And, if you happen to be living or traveling near Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, you might consider a side trip off the I-94 Milwaukee/Chicago corridor near the state line to take the Jelly Belly Warehouse Tour – a 30 minute train ride through the warehouse and distribution center.

Happy travels!


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