Just as some marketers hope women will buy a product because of its fruit flavor (think spirits), girly candy maker Jelly Belly just launched two products it hopes will appeal to men: a beer-flavored jelly bean and a chocolate-covered Tabasco jelly bean.
The company’s target consumers are generally college-educated women ages 25 to 54, with a household income of more than $75,000, who appreciate “sophisticated, complex flavors,” spokeswoman Tomi Holt says. The regular Jelly Belly line includes such varieties as cappuccino and chili mango, and the company has offered alcohol-inspired flavors since the introduction of Mai Tai jelly beans in 1977. Other cocktail-based varieties include margarita, peach bellini, and pomegranate cosmo, none of which actually contain any alcohol.
