Manufacturer Notes: The Jolly Rancher Candy Company was founded in Golden, Colorado, by Bill and Dorothy Harmsen in 1949. They called the company Jolly Rancher to suggest a hospitable, western company. The company originally made ice cream, chocolate and hard candy. As hard candy sales grew, however, they began to concentrate on developing their "Famous for Flavor" line of hard candies. In 1966, the Harmsens sold Jolly Rancher to Beatrice Foods, but the family continued to be involved in the day-to-day operation of the business. Leaf purchased Jolly Rancher in 1983. Hershey Foods Corporation acquired the Leaf North American confectionery operations from Huhtamaki Oy of Helsinki, Finland in 1996.