Jelly Beans Fun Facts

Bet you didn’t know that National Jump for Jelly Beans Day is Thursday, July 31st! Well, we are always happy to jump for one of our favorite candies. Read on to find out the Top 7 fun facts we found out about jelly beans:   

• Our modern-day jelly beans gained popularity during the American Civil War. A candy company in Boston began marketing jelly beans as the perfect treat to send to soldiers, and soon everyone was hooked.
• Jelly beans were President Reagan’s favorite candy and he used them to help him quit smoking when he was the governor of California.
• As part of Reagan’s first inauguration in 1981, 7,000 pounds of jelly beans were ordered and distributed. Jelly Belly created a new flavor, Blueberry, specifically for the inauguration.
• In the 1910s and early 1920s, the word “jellybean” referred to a young man who put a lot of great effort in to dressing stylishly.

• Jelly beans were the first candy to be sold by weight rather than by piece.
• Peak jelly bean season is Easter, but that is a recent development which began in the 1930’s.
• Very Cherry remained the most popular flavor of Jelly Belly for two decades until 1998, when Buttered Popcorn moved into first place. In 2003 Very Cherry moved back into top position by a mere 8 million beans.