Reason for Jelly Bean Shortage

It is very surprising that there is a jelly bean shortage for the upcoming Easter holiday that is celebrated on April 9, 2023, where jelly beans are usually a staple for young children and adults.

Jelly beans are a symbol of spring, a symbol of growth, Easter Bunnies, and sunshine.

Reason for the Jelly Bean Shortage

Unfortunately, stores are facing a shortage of those little sweet colorful chewy candies. The store, Candy Favorites, indicates that the main reason for the jelly bean shortage is because of the war in Ukraine.

It is amazing that a war so far away can have a big impact on something as small as jelly beans. However, the shortage is not because of the jelly beans themselves. It is because Ukraine is a large supplier of the world’s wheat supply. Therefore, starch throughout the world is in very short supply.

Candy Companies

Many candy companies such as throughout the world could not make jelly beans and some other Easter candies, such as pectin Teenie Beanies because of the starch shortage.

Sunrise Confections, one of the largest confectionary producers, will not be making more of their beloved jelly beans once their initial batch is gone and Brach’s Jelly Beans, like all of their products, have become increasingly hard to find.

Some people were aware of the shortage months ago. They became stocking up on jelly beans then because they knew jelly beans would be hard to find closer to Easter.

Jelly Bean Substitutes

Even though jelly beans will be missing from a lot of Easter baskets, there are other kinds of delicious and festive candies that can be substituted.

Here are some appropriate replacements for jelly beans:

• Eggs filled with Swedish Fish
• Cadbury Creme Eggs
• Twix Eggs
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs
• Peeps in all colors
• Chocolate-covered Peeps
• Chocolate bunnies in all different shapes, sizes, and flavors

History of Jelly Beans

Americans eat more than 16 million jelly beans around the Easter holiday, and they are not all eaten by kids. Adults favor them just as much. That number does not include jelly beans eaten at other times during the year.

Jelly beans are small bean-shaped sugar candies with soft candy shells and thick gel interiors. The confection is primarily made of sugar and sold in a wide variety of colors and flavors.

Jelly beans were first associated with celebrations of Easter in the United States sometime during the 1930s because of their egg-like shape. The basic ingredients of jelly beans include sugar, tapioca or corn syrup, and pectin or starch.

President Ronald Reagan and Jelly Beans

President Ronald Reagan's favorite treat was jelly beans. When he ran for Governor of California in 1966, he began eating "Goelitz Mini Jelly Beans" to help him give smoking a pipe. Herman Goelitz Candy Company, the Oakland-based producer of the jelly beans, sent a monthly shipment to the Governor's Office throughout Reagan's two terms in Sacramento. The company also made a custom-designed jelly bean jar for Reagan.

Even after Reagan was no longer a governor, he continued to receive shipments of Goelitz Mini Gourmet Jelly Beans directly from the company.

When Reagan became President of the United States, three and a half tons of red, white, and blue Jelly Belly® jelly beans were shipped to him in Washington, DC for his 1981 Inaugural festivities. Jelly beans were on hand at every one of Reagan's meetings.

Herman Goelitz Candy Company provided the Reagan White House with Jelly Belly® jelly beans for all eight years of Reagan's presidency. President Reagan's favorite Jelly Belly® flavor was licorice.

Fortunately, there was no shortage of jelly beans during Ronald Reagan's administration.