OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. -- "Jelly beans account for over 40% of non-chocolate Easter sales, and it wouldn't be Easter without the 15 million pounds of jelly beans produced by Ferrara Candy," said Peter Goldman, director of Brach's and seasonal confections for Ferrara Candy Co. "We hope to grow our share during Easter in the non-chocolate category for the sixth season in a row."
As a leading manufacturer of jelly beans, Easter is a "high-priority moment" for the candy company.
Ferrara Candy's seasonal business continues to outpace the category with two to three times category growth rates, the company said. With its Brach's brand leading the way and innovation from top sour gummi brand Trolli, Ferrara Candy expects to continue to outperform as the U.S. nonchocolate-confection leader, it said.
Brach's Classic Jelly Bird Eggs rank as the No. 2 jelly bean sold during this spring-focused time frame, the company said. Other popular offerings include Brach's Spiced, Speckled and Black Jelly Bird Eggs. Recent line extensions feature Brach's Pectin Jelly Beans and Brach's Jumbo Jelly Beans, and new in 2016 are the Brach's Fruit Crèmes Jelly Bean Mix featuring "creamy" flavors--Orange crème, Strawberry crème, Raspberry crème, Lemon crème and Peaches & crème.
"We seek to contemporize the Brach's offering while leveraging the longstanding tradition and heritage for which the brand is known. This is evident in our new branding and packaging, which debuted in 2014," said Jamie Mattikow, Ferrara Candy's chief commercial officer.
This year, the company expanded its Easter portfolio to include products from Trolli--one of Ferrara's fastest-growing brands--which it said is to appeal to the growing Generation Z and millennial audiences.
Leveraging its "weirdly awesome" platform, Trolli added two new items to its Easter lineup: Trolli Sour Brite Gummi Beans and Trolli Extreme Sour Egg Bites.
Building upon core Easter items with new pack type offerings is another way Ferrara Candy tries to stay relevant with consumers during seasonal time frames.
"We expect to see growth in our Classic Jelly Bird eggs Big bags (33-ounce-plus) as well as our multipack boxes like the five-pack of Tiny Jelly Bird Egg boxes in Brach's Classic flavor offering," said Goldman. "These pack sizes are perfect for every usage occasion during the Easter season from basket builders to egg hunts and candy dishes."
Based in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., Ferrara Candy is a leading general-line candy manufacturer created by the merger of Ferrara Pan Candy Co. Inc. and Farley's & Sathers Candy Co. Inc. in 2012. The company manufactures a wide portfolio of branded and private-label confections.
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