Who owns Jolly Rancher?
Jolly Rancher is owned by Hershey (the United States, NYSE: HSY).[1]
Evidence: The Hershey Company Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-02-17, SEC EDGAR, 17 February 2026. Verified from filings; last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- The Hershey Company verified
- Owner HQ
- 🇺🇸 United States, Hershey, Pennsylvania
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Founded
- 1949
- Category
- Food › Confectionery › Candy & sugar confectionery
- Parent ticker
- NYSE: HSY
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Jolly Rancher
Jolly Rancher hard candy was founded in Colorado in 1949 by a couple who wanted a name suggesting friendly western hospitality, and built the brand on intense fruit flavours. Hershey acquired it in 1996, and it has extended into gummies and freeze-dried formats.
How often Hershey names Jolly Rancher in its annual report
A plain count of the times the name appears in the text of each annual report, not counting the start of a sentence. A brand that an owner writes about more is usually one it treats as central.
Ownership timeline of Jolly Rancher
Where Jolly Rancher sits in Hershey
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Hershey ownership tree →
See the full Hershey brand portfolio (12) →
Other brands owned by Hershey
Hershey controls 12 brands on Brandtree, 12 of them in food.
Also in food
- Almond Joy (1946)
- Dot's Homestyle Pretzels (2011)
- Heath (1928)
- Hershey's (1900)
- Hershey's Kisses (1907)
- Ice Breakers (1996)
- PayDay (1932)
- Reese's (1928)
- SkinnyPop (2010)
- Twizzlers (1929)
- York (1940)
Other brands in candy & sugar confectionery, and who owns them
The 83 brands in candy & sugar confectionery on Brandtree belong to 36 owners. The largest is Cloetta, with 6; Hershey has 3.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Ahlgrens bilar | Cloetta | 🇸🇪 Sweden |
| Bottle Caps | Ferrero | 🇮🇹 Italy |
| Charleston Chew | Tootsie Roll | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Bon Bon Bum | Colombina | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| Candy Kittens | Katjes International | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Airheads | Perfetti Van Melle | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
| Goldbears | Haribo | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Háls | Nói Síríus | 🇮🇸 Iceland |
About the owner: Hershey
Hershey is a publicly listed company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, founded in 1894. Brandtree records 12 brands under its control, and it is listed as NYSE: HSY.
The Hershey Company was founded by Milton Hershey in 1894 and is controlled by the Hershey Trust, which funds a school for disadvantaged children and holds the majority of voting power. Hershey makes Cadbury and KitKat under licence for the United States market.
🇺🇸 Jolly Rancher and other American brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,549 brands that began in the United States. 478 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Jolly Rancher is not one of them.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Jolly Rancher?
The parent company of Jolly Rancher is Hershey, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United States.
Is Jolly Rancher American?
Yes. Jolly Rancher originated in the United States in 1949 and its owner, Hershey, is also headquartered in the United States.
Is Jolly Rancher still owned by Hershey?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Jolly Rancher is still owned by Hershey. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] The Hershey Company Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-02-17 — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 10-K, published 17 February 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.
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