Jelly Belly Says You Actually Can’t Win One of Their Factories

Earlier this week I reported that Jelly Belly founder David Klein had gone full Willy Wonka and decided to hold his own "Golden Ticket" treasure hunt, and the top prize was an honest-to-goodness candy factory.  Well, Jelly Belly came forward yesterday to make a very important clarification.

According to Chicago's NBC 5, Klein sold his stake in the jelly bean machine known as Jelly Belly 40 years ago, and the company wanted to make that evidently clear with a statement clarifying the fact that they are not affiliated or involved in this giveaway at all.  In their public statement, they said:

"Due to confusion in the marketplace, Jelly Belly Candy Company would like to take this opportunity to clear up the misconception that it is involved with a contest that purportedly offers a candy factory as its grand prize"... "Jelly Belly Candy Company has not had a relationship with Mr. Klein since 1980 when it acquired the trademark."

According to the report, David Klein is still running the contest - and first prize is still a candy company.  Mr. Klein started the Can You Imagine Confection Company, and he claims that the factory you will win in Florida comes with a free candy-making education!

I will say that a website for the company itself and a search on Amazon for some of their wares came up suspiciously empty - weird for 2020, right?  The Facebook page for the treasure hunt says that a winner in Georgia has already found a golden necklace and confirmed their name in the final drawing.

The list of riddles (which cost $50 per pop by the way) is limited to 1000 in each state, and there's only one golden necklace in each state.  Louisiana's riddle hasn't been made available just yet, but if you want in - check the official state by state riddle purchase page here.  Good luck!

I'll just leave this here.