As part of a strategic realignment of its U.S. domestic business, Jelly Belly Candy Co. will soon move production from the North Chicago factory where its jelly beans have been produced since 1978.
Seventy jobs will be eliminated as the company moves production of all Jelly Belly brand candy products to its headquarters in Fairfield, Calif. The factory will make private-label food products, which have experienced “double-digit growth in recent years,” as well as contract manufacturing.
Jelly Belly Candy Co., formerly known in North Chicago as Goelitz Confectionary Co., began selling only candy corn made at the Illinois plant since 1913, and later added Chocolate Malt Balls. The Jelly Belly jelly bean was created in 1976 and made at the Illinois factory beginning in 1978. In 2001, the company changed its name to Jelly Belly, reflecting the vast popularity of its jelly bean candies.
The business is now managed by fourth, fifth and sixth generations of the Goelitz family.
“Eliminating positions is a difficult decision to make,” said Bob Simpson, Jelly Belly’s president, in a statement. “This move to private-label manufacturing is a forward-thinking step for the best deployment of the Illinois facility and the company overall.”
