No beverage saw its stock rise over the past decade quite like seltzer. Whether spiked or unspiked, the 2010s was the decade of Lacroix, White Claw, the Sodastream, and pretty much any other form of carbonated water you can imagine. But that decade of seltzer-reviving groundwork couldn’t possibly prepare you for Jelly Belly Sparkling Water.
I wish that last sentence was a joke, but it’s not. The popular candy bean company has announced plans to introduce canned sparkling water, which will hopefully be less sweet than drinking a melted jelly bean. You’ve been warned.
The brand will offer eight (mostly fruity) varieties that thankfully find the center of the venn diagram of Jelly Belly beans and palatable seltzer flavors. Specifically, they’ve made Lemon Line, Orange Sherbet, Piña Colada, Pink Grapefruit, Tangerine, Very Cherry, French Vanilla, and Watermelon. Mercifully, there are no current plans for any Buttered Popcorn-flavored seltzer.
WATCH: Seltzer vs. Club Soda vs. Tonic Water vs. Sparkling Water
According to Stephen Joffer, nephew of Jelly Belly CEO Lisa Rowland Basher, the company hit on the idea for their very own seltzer line because they found other flavors to be lacking.
“We were on the back patio, drinking a couple of popular sparkling water brands, when I said out loud, ‘If only someone could nail a sparkling water with really stand-out flavors. The lightbulb came on when my dad suggested, ‘Why not our own Jelly Belly flavors? We are known for rich flavors after all,’” he said to Candy Industry.
The end result is a zero-calorie beverage that features nothing but natural flavoring and carbonated water, skipping on the artificial sweeteners, sugar and sodium.
Though it seems odd, the product launch is perhaps a bit less of a stretch given that Jelly Belly has made Rosé “sparkling jelly beans” in the past. If you’re going to make a sparkling beverage-themed jelly bean, you might as well complete the circle and make a jelly bean-themed sparkling beverage, right?
You’ll only find packs of eight 12-ounce cans for between $4.99 and $5.99 each at Hy-Vee in the short term, but sales through Jelly Belly’s website should commence at some point in the near future. If you’re looking for a faint taste of jelly beans without any of the calories, you’ll definitely want to seek this stuff out.
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