“We now produce 36 flavour varieties ranging from passion fruit to Pina Colada”
In 1998 my father and I identified a niche in the European confectionery market for a gourmet jelly bean brand that would bring a premium product to the sugar confectionery market. It then took extensive research to develop a gourmet jelly bean that has the same flavour on the inside as well as the outside; delivering the great taste sensation that The Jelly Bean Factory has become renowned for. We invested heavily in both research and our manufacturing facilities to ensure we could consistently deliver what we promised. We also wanted to introduce as many flavours as possible and we now produce 36 flavour varieties ranging from passion fruit to Pina Colada. And finally we wanted to have a very strong all natural ‘free from’ positioning so all our jelly beans are gluten, nut, GMO and gelatine free, Halal certified and Kosher compliant as well as being suitable for vegetarians and Coeliacs.
Today The Jelly Bean Factory is the biggest producer of high quality gourmet jelly beans in Europe, producing only natural gourmet jelly beans that use natural flavours and added fruit juice in the fruit flavours.
New manufacturing facility
Last year we opened a new state of the art production line to produce a new range of gourmet Belgian jelly beans coated in rich Belgian chocolate.
We were very lucky to get the Irish Prime Minister, Enda Kenny, to officially open the facility which created 25 new jobs and nearly doubled our manufacturing footprint from 55,000 sq ft to over 90,000 sq ft The Prime Minister recognised us as one of Ireland’s success stories and credited us with helping to lead Ireland’s economic recovery which was a fantastic compliment.
We expect a 50 per cent growth in export sales in the next two years and an investment programme of €1 million is planned as we grow our markets across Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. We currently produce more than 12 million jelly beans a day and with this facility we have increased that number by a few million more beans a day.
Geographical presence
We export over 90 per cent of our products to over 50 countries across Europe, Scandinavia, North America, South Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. We also have offices in the UK, US and the Middle East.
Business is developing well in many emerging markets and the company is constantly receiving requests from retailers interested in listing our product range. The company will be entering the Finnish market later this year and is engaged in an exciting co brand opportunity with Panda Liquorice in the US. The fact we have 100 per cent natural colour and no artificial flavours has opened up a lot of markets that are looking for high quality confectionery product with an all natural, ‘free from’ positioning.
New products
Our core strategy is all about category growth by bringing new and exciting premium concepts and formats to the market. We already have some immediate plans for 2013 which will be revealed at ISM. Several new unique and innovative product concepts are also in the pipeline and will be launched during the year to help increase loyalty and basket spend, as well as bringing new consumers to the category.
Industry changes
We’ve noticed that increased consumer demand in export markets for confectionery with healthy benefits is driving NPD. The Jelly Bean Factory has always responded to this consumer demand by producing gourmet jelly beans using only 100% natural flavours and no artificial colours. No other brand of jelly beans has been able to replicate the vibrant natural colours and the range of all natural flavours that we are respected for. New product formats have also become an increasingly important element of our business. For example, the ‘Pop-A-Bean Can’ we launched in 2012 delivered a high quality jelly bean in a fun format, thanks to its unique pump action dispensing system which pops out a variety of flavours at random. This new format joined an already comprehensive range including cups, tubes, boxes with windows, cans, folding boxes, canisters, jars and bean machines. It’s all about keeping the brand fresh and alive whilst still meeting our high standards and meeting consumer needs.
By Richard Cullen, joint managing director of The Jelly Bean Factory
