The JI's Price Check: Your regular look at consumer costs in North-Central Connecticut

Tim Leininger, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
Updated ·2 min read

Mar. 28—Easter is less than two weeks away and with the holiday comes the floppy-eared home invader the Easter Bunny, hiding your decorative eggs and overloading your children with massive amounts of sugar.

One of the perennial treats that the Easter Bunny tends to favor is the multi-flavored bite-sized treat, the jelly bean.

WHAT IT COSTS

ITEM: One bag of Brach's Jelly Bird Eggs (jelly beans)

LOCATIONS: Walgreens in Enfield, Target in South Windsor, CVS in Vernon, Walmart in East Windsor.

PRICE: From $2.49 to $6.48

Though it appears that no consumer watchdog organization pays close attention to the humble bean of jelly, sugar prices have been consistently on the rise for the past four years, which would directly affect not only jelly beans, but any other sugar-based product.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a pound of white sugar used to cost on average nationally, about 57 cents a pound in December 2018. As of February of this year, the average price is 88 cents a pound.

So what does that mean for the jelly bean?

Locally, nobody is in consensus as to what to charge as prices are all over the place.

At the CVS in Vernon Center, a 14.5-ounce bag of Brach's Jelly Bird Eggs — jelly beans — is $5.79 with a sale offering a second bag at half price.

At the Target in South Windsor, the same 14.5-ounce bag sells for $3.49. Meanwhile, the same item at the Walgreens in Enfield is a dollar cheaper at $2.49.

But, if you go to the Walmart in East Windsor, a 36-ounce bag, more than twice the size of the other bags, is sold for $6.48.

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