A Colorado ice cream shop is the last place you'd expect one of America's biggest hard candy brands to start, but that's exactly where Jolly Rancher began.
From a Colorado ice cream counter to a candy aisle staple
Jolly Rancher started life in 1949 as an ice cream and chocolate shop in Golden, Colorado, opened by Bill and Dorothy Harmsen. Within a few years the couple shifted focus to hard candy, and the ranch branding — complete with a cowboy hat logo — stuck. Hershey bought the brand outright in 1996 and still makes it today.
The flavour line-up
- Watermelon — consistently the best-selling flavour in the US lineup
- Blue Raspberry — a colour and flavour that doesn't correspond to any real fruit
- Green Apple, Cherry, Grape — the other mainstays of the original hard candy assortment
- Fire — a cinnamon variant added for a spicier option
Why Jolly Ranchers taste so intense
Each hard candy is only around 23 calories, but the flavour is deliberately concentrated and long-lasting, designed to hold its taste right down to the last sliver of candy rather than fading halfway through. That intensity is also why the brand works so well in American candy mixes alongside other US imports.
Sour Jolly Ranchers: the Stix range
The original hard candies are tart rather than sour, so Hershey introduced Jolly Rancher Stix and other sour-coated spin-offs to compete directly with the sour sweets category that brands like Warheads had already built a following in.
Frequently asked questions
Where do Jolly Ranchers come from?
Jolly Rancher was founded in 1949 by Bill and Dorothy Harmsen in Golden, Colorado, originally as an ice cream and chocolate shop. The brand switched its focus to hard candy in the 1950s and is now owned by The Hershey Company, which acquired it in 1996.
What are the original Jolly Rancher flavours?
The core lineup has long included Watermelon, Cherry, Blue Raspberry, Green Apple and Grape, with Watermelon consistently ranking as the most popular flavour in the US.
Are Jolly Ranchers sour?
The original hard candies are sweet and tart rather than properly sour. Jolly Rancher later launched a separate Stix range specifically to compete in the sour candy category.