In Memoriam: Mourning the death of Sunkist Fruit Gems
(J. The Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) — It’s a common sight in American synagogues: A kid stands at the bima to read their b’nai mitzvah portion. But there’s also something happening in the audience. Small, individually wrapped candies are passed around, often by cute kids bearing baskets of sweets. And when the Torah reading is over, the newly minted adult is pelted with the candies. But what kind of candy? In most synagogues, it’s Sunkist Fruit Gems, a coin-shaped kosher gummy that comes in several colors and fruit flavors. They’ve been ubiquitous in synagogues for years, but now the beloved brand is no more. As of May, parent company Jelly Belly, which is based in Fairfield, California (and which was purchased in 2023 by Ferrara, which is in turn owned by Italian candy purveyor Ferrero), has discontinued the favorite candy of American synagogues. Ferrara told eJewishPhilanthropy that it simply comes down to demand. “Believe it or not, it’s due to lack of consumer demands across the country,” a representative said. “If something doesn’t perform, [the company] move[s] onto something else.” Between phone calls to rabbis in the San Francisco Bay Area and more than 130 comments (and counting) on a Facebook post I made, it has become clear to me that this is something of a crisis. Sunkist Fruit Gems are in a sweet spot, fulfilling three key requirements: They were kosher, they were soft enough not to cause welts on the foreheads of 13-year-olds, and they were individually wrapped so they wouldn’t get stuck on the floor. After several emails and phone calls to people who might have known, it’s still unclear to me when they became kosher — but by all accounts, they’ve been in widespread use at American synagogues for many years. I conducted an informal survey on Facebook to find out just how entrenched they are. The consensus is that their presence at American synagogues is close to universal. J.’s own food columnist, Alix Wall, commented that Sunkist Fruit Gems are “the only one I see” at area synagogues. Others chimed in from around the country. Local rabbis I spoke with are genuinely distraught — and some are springing into action, buying up remaining stock in bulk orders. At Rabbi Mark Bloom’s synagogue in Oakland, Temple Beth Abraham, candy isn’t thrown at b’nai mitzvah kids, but little kids invited up to help sing the closing song during services are handed Fruit Gems. “Noooo, noooo!” said Bloom when I broke the bad news to him. “We should get a bajilion, like as many as we can at this moment. Because what other soft kosher candies are there? Wow. Brutal. Absolutely brutal.” When I asked Rabbi Daniel Stein of Congregation B’nai Shalom in Walnut Creek if his synagogue pelts b’nai mitzvah kids with Fruit Gems, he corrected me: “We shower them. But yes.” And when I told him that Fruit Gems are no more, he said, “Oh my goodness! Wow. OK. I guess we should stock up.” Though it was news to him, he suspected something might be afoot. “I will say, I noticed… that Jelly Belly was acquired by somebody else,” he said. “I worried they wouldn’t be kosher anymore.” I spoke with Rabbi Gershon Albert of Beth Jacob Congregation in Oakland as well. “Oh no,” he said. “That’s the first I’m hearing about it. We’ve purchased them directly from the factory before.” Indeed, the Fairfield factory where Jelly Belly and Fruit Gems are produced is a standard school field trip in Northern California. Some local rabbis have already ordered ahead. Rabbi Chai Levy of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley commented on my Facebook post that upon hearing the tragic news, she immediately ordered 50 pounds. “We should be set until the AI apocalypse,” she said, “or until another product becomes available.” A comment from Rabbi Zvika Krieger of Chochmat HaLev in Berkeley reads, “Just saw the news about them being discontinued — put in a big bulk order so now we have [a] stockpile!!!” But what happens when that stockpile runs out? Are there other candies that fit the bill? Yes — and it’s my Facebook commenters to the rescue here. Some suggested Mini Laffy Taffy, though Stein said he recently pooh-poohed the option as being just a little too hard. Two Israeli brands were suggested: Yogueta and Elite Toffee Brachot. A Greek brand, Gelo, was also suggested. Then there’s Oh Nuts!, a kosher candy purveyor that offers a range of individually wrapped “jellies.” One Canadian commenter reported that individually wrapped Pizazz Fruit Slices are common north of the border. One person suggested simply sticking with a Jelly Belly product: mini packs of jelly beans. The venerable kosher brand Liebers sells what it calls Fruit Jewels, an obvious Fruit Gems copycat. And one brand, Nassau Candy, has just announced their own copycat candy, apparently inspired by the demise of the Fruit Gems. Some people said that before Fruit Gems, synagogues used individually wrapped kosher marshmallows, which are soft, and Tootsie Rolls, which are decidedly not. (I couldn’t find any current kosher marshmallows available, but let me know if you do!) The custom of throwing candy at b’nai mitzvah celebrants seems to be an outgrowth of the much older custom of throwing sweets (or, even earlier, nuts, fruit and grains) at the happy couple at an aufruf, the brief celebration of an upcoming wedding held during regular synagogue services. That, in turn, is an outgrowth of the Talmudic custom of showering couples during their weddings as a way of wishing prosperity and fertility on the couple. “We want the Torah to be sweet,” Albert told me. “So we throw it at our kids after they read from the Torah or share words of Torah with our community. We want them to feel that the Torah is sweet — but not painful, so we use something soft like the Sunkist.” This story was first reported by J. The Jewish News of Northern California and is reprinted with permission. As the Year Turns, Support the Journalism You Trust. JTA covers the stories shaping Jewish life around the world — with the depth this moment calls for. 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