What’s Next For Mr. Jelly Belly?

David Klein always regretted selling his invention, Jelly Belly. However, he believes there are more successes to come. While he currently offers $5 tours through his small candy factory, he has some big ideas brewing, reports Los Angeles Times.

Now, years out of the limelight, he’s convinced a comeback is right around the corner, arriving in the shape of that old friend: the jelly bean.

But this will be no ordinary bean. So spectacular and scrumptious, he believes, it’s bound to turn a foray gone bitter into something marvelously sweet.

The candy will be called David’s Signature Beyond Gourmet Jelly Beans and come in exotic flavors like Thai curry and bacon-wrapped dates. It will be manufactured by Marich Confectionery, whose founder Marinus van Dam once worked at Goelitz and developed the jelly bean recipes for Klein.

Financed by Leaf Brands, whose chief executive reached out to Klein after seeing the documentary, the packages will read “from the inventors of the Jelly Belly.”

Last month at the Sweets and Snacks Expo in Chicago, Klein donned his jelly bean hat and grinned while posing for photos. It was the first candy show he had been to in years, and the documentary had given him something he has craved for decades: recognition.

Photo by mbaylor

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