Happy 100th Birthday Jelly Belly!
By: Jonathan Jones 08/02/2013
Dear Jelly Belly,
Well, you’ve done it. 100 years of deliciously sweet, and utterly surprising, candy
goodness. We’ve all shared in the adventure that comes with a bag of Jelly Belly’s. You understand that for some reason, it’s always fun to eat something without really knowing what flavor it’s going to be. But we’ve all had our favorites…. Even if we never really knew what it was. (For me, it’s Red. Not the dark red, or the brighter red… It’s a medium red, and it’s some kind of fruit. And it’s delicious!)
You’ve certainly come a long way from your humble beginnings. I’ve heard you started off as a sweet gummy that was dipped in a flavored coating. Man am I glad that you didn’t stop there! Now you’re known and loved around the world, and it’s funny to think that you began in a little ice cream parlor called Fosselman’s in Alhambra, California. At first, you were modest, with only 8 flavors including Very Cherry, Tangerine, Lemon, Green Apple, Grape Jelly, Licorice, Root Beer, and Cream Soda. But you definitely didn’t stop there Jelly Belly! Now you’re all about the more flavors the better!
Remember when you gave us the Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans from the Harry Potter stories? I certainly do! There was suddenly a lot more to lose when playing the “Jelly Belly flavor gamble” game. Was it going to be Cherry? Or were you going to surprise us with flavors like Ear Wax, Booger, Rotten Egg or even… yes… Vomit. But we still ate the whole box Jelly Belly, because it’s so much more than just the flavor. You give us the element of surprise and always keep us guessing. And you've been doing this for an entire century!
So… Happy Birthday Jelly Belly! Thank you for all of the times you’ve celebrated with me. You’re in my stocking every year, sitting next to all of my birthday cards, I’ve never had an Easter basket without you and I can’t thank you enough for your company on road trips!
Here’s to another 100!
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