Why You Might Not Find One Of Easter's Most Popular Jelly Beans This Year

To some, Holy Week signifies the countdown to Jesus' resurrection, celebrated by the Christian faithful on Easter Sunday. To procrastinators, it's a reminder to get their act together since they only have a few more days to finish making Easter baskets. Dating back to the eighth century, woven baskets filled with goodies have been used to celebrate the spring equinox when farmers rejoiced over the increase in daylight. 

While the tradition has changed over the centuries, receiving an Easter basket full of candy is the pinnacle of the Easter celebration for children. Along with pastel-colored candies and chocolates shaped like bunnies, plastic eggs are filled with everything from coins and small toys to jelly beans, the candy corn of Easter, and the unofficial holiday candy. Jelly bean lovers discriminate between brands that deliver the sweet treat in their favorite flavors and texture. These small candies range from artificially sweetened fruit flavors to aggressively flavored jelly beans – does anyone like the vomit-flavored ones? Jelly beans are available from several candy manufacturers, including Brach's, Starburst, and Jelly Belly. 

However, one popular jelly bean manufacturer won't be seen on shelves for the Easter 2023 season. According to Lehigh Valley Live, the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based jelly bean brand Just Born has shifted its focus to continue production of two of its top sellers, Mike and Ike and Hot Tamales candies.

Just Born has become synonymous with Easter candy, as it manufactures another seasonal treat — the iconic marshmallow Peeps. Like other companies, Just Born faced production challenges after closing its Bethlehem and Philadelphia facilities due to the Covid pandemic, suspending production of seasonal candies during the fall of 2020, and has struggled to catch up since. That said, a customer service representative from Just Born empathized: "We're sorry for any disappointment this may cause to our loyal fans, but please know that we are making every effort to ensure that our jelly beans will be back on shelves in the future."

While most brick-and-mortar retailers will not have Just Born assorted fruit-flavored jelly beans, brand devotees can still find some of the product in bulk on Amazon or scour stores for the stock from previous years. Fans of black licorice-flavored jelly beans can find 5-pound bags and 10-ounce multipacks from various retailers for $12 to $25. 

Unfortunately, Just Born isn't the only company missing from people's Easter baskets in 2023. The war in Ukraine has caused a supply chain shortage of pectin and starch, two necessary ingredients for making jelly beans, forcing some brands to halt production (via CBS News Pittsburgh). As a result, Sarris Candies, another Pennsylvania-based company, isn't manufacturing jelly beans in 2023 either.