Ferrara’s strong annual performance sees additional product launches

The US-based Ferrara Candy Company has celebrated a strong set of annual results in the wake of its recent major return to the Sweets & Snacks Expo, with elevated sales reaching $1.8 billion for the year, reports Neill Barston.

As the manufacturer noted, its performance has increased by 15% in the past two years, which comes despite wider challenges to the sector including supply chain issues surrounding heightened costs of sugar and cocoa for chocolate-based ranges.

Significantly, the business highlighted that its flagship Nerds brand has continued its growth trajectory, being up 67% year-on-year, with a strong product pipeline on display at Sweets & Snacks in Indianapolis this May.

Moreover, its Gummy Clusters retained top spot as America’s leading sugar candy throughout 2023, as the company reportedly increased market share through continued product growth, new market expansions, and strategic international and domestic acquisitions. (See our exclusive Sweets & Snacks Expo video review here, featuring Ferrara).

“Ferrara’s portfolio of brands aims to delight consumers and continue to expand in the U.S.A. and the world, and our performance in 2023 indicates consumers continue to love our products,” said Maurizio Ficarra, Chief Financial Officer of Ferrara.

“By adding Dori and Jelly Belly to the Ferrara portfolio, we immediately accelerate our ongoing international expansion with sizeable international sales and operations of well-known and beloved brands. We are optimistic that we will build on this momentum in 2024 to build on the success in of Ferrara and drive the growth of the sugar category in the U.S.”

Dori is the second largest Brazilian sweets and snacks manufacturer. Its addition to the Ferrara ecosystem successfully closed on September 29, 2023, marking Ferrara’s first international expansion through acquisition.

Jelly Belly launch

As the company added, its recent acquisition of the much-loved Jelly Belly Candy Company has continued to prove fruitful, as it joined forces with the imaginative game makers at Wilder to gamify the infamous BeanBoozled jelly beans.

BeanBoozled Taste the Truth, created by Wilder, features the new 7th Edition BeanBoozled Collection and its two new wild flavors from Jelly Belly – Wet Dog and Burnt Rubber – and their delicious counterparts – Top Banana and Licorice. Available now for pre-sale on JellyBelly.com, the game and its new flavors will challenge players, ending with a sweet win or gross consequence.

“Since we first released the BeanBoozled Collection it has always been a fan-favorite, so teaming up with the fun experts at Wilder for Taste the Truth was a no brainer,” said Jeff Brown, CEO of Jelly Belly Candy Company. “We know fans are drawn to the gamification of BeanBoozled, so we’re thrilled to create a family-friendly, interactive game that spotlights our wild and tasty BeanBoozled flavors. As Jelly Belly is THE innovator of true-to-life WOW flavors, we also had to dream up some new beans with the 7th edition of BeanBoozled to really shock our players.”