Andrew Maas, a 39-year-old father from Colorado, has won a candy factory in a contest created by David Klein, who coined the Jelly Belly brand name, reports the Kokomo Tribune. Klein, founder of Candyman Kitchens, launched the contest last year, along with his partner, Stephanie Thirtyacre. The two drove around the country hiding golden tickets in every state and created four-line riddles that led contest participants to the prize.
One thousand people were allowed to register for each state hunt and whoever found the ticket was awarded a $5,000 prize. The final riddle was released in May, which gave clues to the last golden ticket, which, if found, would grant the winner ownership of a 4,000-square-foot candy factory in Florida.
Maas worked on the final clue for weeks but on August 28, he cracked the riddle and discovered the ticket was buried in the town of Kokomo, Indiana. He took a flight the next day from Denver, where he was living with his wife and children, to Kokomo, and after a 30-minute search and some digging, he found the metal ticket.
“I thought, ‘Oh my gosh! I can’t believe it,’” said Maas. “After all this time, I had it. It was so surreal. I had been thinking about this for a year. It was a crazy mix of adrenaline and excitement.”
Unable to just pickup and leave his life in Denver, Maas is working on an agreement in which Klein gives him the factory and then buys it back from him.
“Whatever it is, we’ll be happy with it,” said Maas. “It’s money we didn’t have. But the excitement and adventure was the real reward. The money is the gravy on top.”
Klein, inspired by Willy Wonka, has always wanted to give away a candy factory, he told the Kokomo Tribune. Now that the contest is over, Klein and Thirtyacre say they feel like they’ve done something “truly special” to help people during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We honestly felt like we did some good for the world, and that gave us the greatest pleasure,” Klein said. “It was something to think about and dream about. And sometimes dreams are better than reality.” Full Story
Related: Jelly Belly Not Affiliated with Treasure Hunt Contest; Kraft to Give Away Candy-Flavored Mac & Cheese.