How To Participate In Jelly Belly Candy Company’s Golden Ticket Treasure Hunt

Those who have always wanted to participate in a Willy Wonka style treasure hunt will finally get their chance. While the famed fictional chocolate factory from the Roald Dahl book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and movies isn’t up for grabs, fans will get a chance to possibly win another famous candy factory—the one that makes Jelly Belly Jelly beans.

In a press release, David Klein, the founder of the company, known for their unique flavors of candies including Caramel Corn, Chocolate Pudding and Tutti-Frutti, announced that ahead of his planned retirement, he and his partner are actually creating a real-life version of the golden ticket contest.

Klein revealed that gold style tickets in the form of necklaces have already been hidden around the United States in places they have come across that they feel have an interesting story, and there are plans to have multiple hunts—in each state. Anyone who joins at least one of the hunts will not only have a chance to win a cash prize but will then be eligible to search for what Klein is calling “The Ultimate treasure” --the key to one of his candy factories and an all-expenses-paid trip and education to a candy-making university. This part of the hunt will begin after all states have had a chance to participate in the first one.

Each initial treasure hunt is valued at $5,000.

Those who wish to participate will have to shell out a small fee to enter a hunt and access a clue to their state’s hidden necklace. That will cost $49.99 for each individual state’s clue. As of press time, the only states with clues currently available are Georgia and Virginia, with Tennessee being released on Tuesday morning. West Virginia will be the next state available to participate, with clue release dates also set on later dates for South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama and Florida.

Those who wish to participate will need to act quickly once the clues are available in their state however, as only 1,000 participants will be allowed in each hunt.

The news of the contest led to several jokes on social media, with some commenting on the fact that it was another unexpected twist in a year that has been full of them, while others also joked about what happened in the movies and books to the kids that won a golden ticket trip to the factory—but not the factory.

It’s unclear when the contest will officially come to an end.