By Ben Antonius | Daily Republic | February 21, 2009
Jelly Belly cycling team members go for a ride with a sales GT sales rep in Fairfield before the start of the Tour of California. The company is celebrating its 10th year of sponsoring the riders. Photo by Chris Jordan
FAIRFIELD - As its team of eight riders pedals through the last stage of the Tour of California today, the Jelly Belly Candy Co. is racing toward a milestone of its own.
This year is the Fairfield-based company's 10th as the title sponsor of a professional cycling team, the longest-running sponsorship in the United States.
The sponsorship has proven to be an effective marketing tool for Jelly Belly, said Stephanie Scott, the company's events marketing manager who works closely with the team.
Scott was in Clovis on Wednesday for the finish of Stage 4 in the nine-day tour. Thousands of spectators lined the streets to see some of the world's top riders.
'Any time you can associate yourself with something like this, where people are just having a good time, it is the place you want to be,' she said.
In a race boasting the likes of Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner, Jelly Belly's team did not enter the tour expecting to contend for the overall title. In the competition for fan interest, however, Scott said the company is holding its own.
'We have the longest line from any booth here,' she said.
Although it may seem like an unusual way to measure success in a competitive sport, marketing and positive exposure to customers is ultimately why Jelly Belly entered the world of professional cycling.
The foothold in professional cycling proved crucial when the company launched its Sport Beans line. The beans are loaded with vitamins and electrolytes -- as well as good, old-fashioned sugar -- and are Jelly Belly's answer to the sports gel market, snacks that provide a burst of energy for endurance athletes.
'Because of our investment in professional cycling and the length of our investment, it really opened up the bicycle dealers' channels of trade,' Scott said. 'It is much easier for us to get Sport Beans out into the marketplace because we are already invested in the sport.
'If you want to sell into that particular industry, you really do have to align yourself with a professional organization to get the credibility.'
As a sponsor, Jelly Belly officials keep tight reins on the riders, visiting them during their annual training camp to prepare for radio and TV interviews and scheduling bike safety visits to schools.
During competitions, riders eat Sport Beans and often toss packages of Jelly Bellys to the crowd.
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