Jelly Belly Evolves Global Headquarters with EV Charging

Jelly Belly Candy Company is the world’s #1 gourmet jellybean and one of America’s biggest candy manufacturers. Since 1898, they’ve been a staple found in most American households including becoming Ronald Reagan’s favorite candy to being the first jellybean in outer space. Every year they welcome over 300,000 visitors coming to tour their factory in Fairfield, CA and while Jelly Belly has been in business for 123 years, they’ve learned to keep up with the times especially when it comes to technology and sustainability.

“If we can do things to improve the environment, we definitely want to do them.” says John Jamison, Vice President of Retail Operations at Jelly Belly. “Our biggest initiative was installing solar panels on multiple buildings, with all the power generated feeding into our corporate office and warehouse.”

Like many businesses today, Jelly Belly has made sustainability an important part of their mission. But it wasn’t until they saw the growth in EV drivers from guests and employees that EV charging became an opportunity.

 

The Challenge

Although EV charging infrastructure initially wasn’t top of mind for Jelly Belly, they began to see a shift in how people were traveling to their facility. “We had guests who would come with extension cords and they would plug their car into a lamp pole out in the parking lot. You start to think ‘what’s going on out there?’” said John. “As a location looking to attract visitors, we see EV charging as a huge positive.”

Just as John and his team started thinking about an initiative for the growing number of visitors arriving in electric vehicles, EV Connect, and EV Box approached him with a seamless, turnkey solution.

The Solution

Through their collaboration with EV Connect and EV Box, Jelly Belly installed eight reliable, accessible, and intelligent EVBox BusinessLine charging stations which were coupled with EV Connect’s open management software platform to easily control access, set pricing, and review real-time stations usage and performance data.

In addition, Jelly Belly also secured funding through the CEC DCFC Grant Program. In 2016, EV Connect was one of four companies awarded California Energy Commission grants for a total of $8,875,457 in proposed funding to install DC fast charging stations.

John was also amazed by the amount of support he received in configuring his EVBox stations for peak ROI. “Everything we’ve asked for, EV Connect has been very, very responsive. Helping us learn how to use the platform, pull performance data, set pricing—they made our lives so much easier.”

Want EV Connect can help you power up your parking lot with EV charging? Contact us today!