We're taking you on a behind-the-scenes look at the wonderfully hypnotic ways that your favourite products, from vibrators to lipstick and eyeshadow, are made.
We may never get our golden ticket to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, but we can catch a real life glimpse into the sweet spot where one major candy classic is assembled. On this episode of How Stuff Is Made, Refinery29 goes behind the scenes with Jelly Belly in order to find out exactly how they make their jelly bean magic.
Jelly beans, originally considered a cross between the Turkish Delight and Jordan Almonds (i.e. the chewy sweetness of the Turkish Delight encased in the sugar shell of a Jordan Almond), became a staple on the U.S. candy scene at the start of the 20th century. President Ronald Regan was the famous poster boy consumer of the tiny sweets.
The six unique steps that go into the creation of each sugary bean are revealed during R29's tour in the video above. Consider this your golden ticket for a trip to Jelly Belly's Bean Factory. Spoiler alert: There aren't spray-tanned Oompa Loompas in shorteralls, suspect fizzy lifting drinks, or bad egg-sorting rooms — but you will find robotic arms, a syrupy-sugar mixture called "slurry," and a "belly flop" sorting bin. Oh, and there's also a "Sea of Beans" room that holds an estimated 240 million jelly beans.