New twist on a candy classic, Jolly Rancher Ryl Tea targets zero-sugar drinkers

Ryl Tea is bringing Jolly Rancher flavors to the beverage aisle in a zero-sugar, ready-to-drink tea line licensed from The Hershey Company, aiming at consumers who want candy-inspired taste without the usual sugar load.

Edited by ad hoc news New Releases & Launches Desk. Reviewed before publication on 06/16/2026 at 7:10 AM ET. Details in the imprint.

Candy flavors are moving into the ready-to-drink aisle as beverage start-up Ryl Tea rolls out a new zero-sugar line inspired by The Hershey Company's Jolly Rancher brand under a fresh licensing partnership. The collaboration pairs Hershey's well-known hard candy flavor profiles with Ryl's canned tea format, targeting shoppers who want a nostalgic taste without a sugary soda-style formulation.

What the Jolly Rancher Ryl Tea launch offers

According to recent industry coverage, Ryl Tea raised around $20 million in a new funding round and simultaneously announced a multi-year licensing deal to create a Jolly Rancher-branded tea line based on the candy's signature fruit flavors, with the beverages positioned as zero-sugar and low-calorie options in mainstream grocery channels. Food Venture Financing News from Davis Wright Tremaine reports that the products are designed to mirror classic Jolly Rancher taste while using a formulation that keeps added sugars off the label, putting the series in direct competition with flavored seltzers and diet soft drinks aimed at health-conscious consumers.

For Hershey, the move extends the Jolly Rancher name beyond confectionery into the fast-growing flavored beverage segment, where brands routinely chase limited-edition and co-branded launches to win shelf space and social media visibility. The licensing structure means Hershey supplies brand equity and flavor IP while Ryl handles production and distribution, giving the candy maker incremental revenue and additional consumer touchpoints without building its own beverage infrastructure for the new tea line.

Ryl has positioned its core portfolio around lower sugar content, functional ingredients and a focus on flavor authenticity, which aligns with Hershey's broader strategy of diversifying where its brands appear in-store, including in beverages, baked goods and snack collaborations. By attaching the Jolly Rancher name to a zero-sugar tea rather than a traditional sweetened drink, the partners are trying to capture shoppers who grew up with the candy but now pay closer attention to calories and sugar grams per serving.

Hershey has frequently used licensing deals to expand its brands into adjacent categories like ice cream, baking mixes and breakfast items, and this Jolly Rancher Ryl Tea project fits that pattern of capital-light brand extension. For retailers, the product offers another seasonal and promotional hook in the cold drink section, especially if the partners cycle through limited flavors based on Jolly Rancher favorites such as watermelon, green apple or blue raspberry, which can be rotated or bundled to keep the shelf set feeling fresh.

Industry observers note that confectionery-inspired drinks can also support cross-merchandising, with store displays that highlight both the original candy and the new tea series to lift overall basket size. As consumers continue to experiment with flavored beverages while watching sugar intake, a recognizable candy logo attached to a zero-sugar formula may help Ryl stand out against a long list of private-label and legacy-brand competitors in the refrigerated and ambient beverage aisles.

The Jolly Rancher brand itself sits within Hershey's broader portfolio of candies, gums and mints, which the company describes as one of the largest in the North American market by retail sales. Hershey's corporate materials highlight that it manages more than 100 brands worldwide, and that extending those brands through licensing agreements is part of its long-term growth and category management strategy across snacks and adjacent segments. The company underscores this in its official overview of how it leverages intellectual property and partnerships to reach consumers beyond core chocolate bars and candy bags. Hershey's own brand portfolio information points to continued efforts to place names like Jolly Rancher in new use-cases, including beverages, seasonal products and limited-run collaborations.

Beyond beverages, Hershey is also experimenting with other formats and co-branded snacks, including a recently announced series of baked goods developed with Grupo Bimbo's Marinela and Bimbo brands that combine cakes and pastries with Hershey chocolate components for Hispanic and mainstream US shoppers. A report from confectionery trade media details how the companies are planning snack cakes and minis with Hershey inclusions for US convenience and grocery channels, illustrating how licensing and collaboration have become central tactics in Hershey's product and category strategy outside of classic chocolate bars. Specialist outlet Confectionery Production notes that these joint launches are aimed at opening fresh sub-segments where Hershey-branded ingredients add perceived value to partner products.

For Hershey, the Jolly Rancher Ryl Tea line sits alongside these collaborations as another test of how far its brands can stretch into non-traditional categories while still feeling authentic to consumers who associate the names with candy first. Shares of The Hershey Company (ISIN US4278661081) traded on the NYSE under the ticker HSY at around $180 per share in mid-June 2026, reflecting a business model that increasingly blends core confectionery with licensed extensions in beverages and snacks.

Jolly Rancher Ryl Tea in brief: key details

• Product: Jolly Rancher Ryl Tea (licensed beverage line)
• Manufacturer: The Hershey Company (brand owner) / Ryl Tea (beverage producer)
• Category: New Release, Launch, Licensed beverage
• Launch date: 2026 (following Ryl Tea's latest funding announcement)
• MSRP / Price: Not officially disclosed; positioned in line with other branded ready-to-drink teas in US grocery and convenience channels
• Availability: Expected in US retail, including grocery and convenience stores, via Ryl Tea's distribution network
• Target audience: Consumers seeking candy-inspired flavors in a zero-sugar, low-calorie ready-to-drink beverage
• Key differentiator / USP: Combines the recognizable Jolly Rancher candy brand with a zero-sugar tea formulation developed by a specialist beverage start-up

This article was a.i.-assisted and editorially reviewed. Product information without warranty; prices and availability may change at short notice. Not investment advice and not a buy or sell recommendation. Trading involves risk up to and including the total loss of invested capital.