Easter may be long gone, but the Jelly Belly Candy Company is still producing jelly beans, 300,000 pounds a day. An anomaly in the stagnant $29.1 billion candy industry, the company, based in Fairfield, Calif., continues to grow and increase market share, with sales up 25 percent since 2006. Jelly Belly’s success, industry experts say, is because of wider availability and global expansion. And, according to candy connoisseurs, it just makes a better bean.

"All you have to do is look at them, and they are brighter, shinier and prettier," said Sarah Gencarelli, a candy reviewer for CandyAddict.com, a blog about sweets. With unusual and, in her opinion, superior flavors like buttered popcorn, kiwi, margarita and cappuccino, she said, "Jelly Belly has this artisanal niche."

The challenge for the company now is to maintain that gourmet image as it moves into more retail outlets. While Jelly Belly beans used to be hard to find, available only in large glass jars in mom-and-pop candy shops, they have been gradually appearing since 2000 packaged in more grocery and convenience stores as well as at mass merchandisers like Wal-Mart, Office Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond.