Lisa Rowland Brasher

Class of 2018

As a young girl Lisa Rowland Brasher would accompany her father, Candy Hall of Famer Herm Rowland, to the family business, Herman Goelitz Candy Co., on weekends and holidays. She says that was all it took — she was sold.

Born in Concord, CA, on January 5, 1963, to Herm and Andrea, Lisa spent her high school summers working in the production department while also training horses and teaching horseback riding at the family farm. She has three siblings, Herman Jr., Christopher and Rebecca.

Lisa always had the goal of joining the family firm and shortly after graduating from high school she began learning everything she could about the business, starting out as a receptionist in the customer service department.

After learning how to keep books from her grandmother and spending some time working in human resources, Lisa took an assignment in the retail merchandising department where she gained a better understanding of the retail market. She used this knowledge to develop pricing strategies for the company’s entire product line across all retail channels. In 1987, Lisa joined the company’s board of directors, which was renamed Jelly Belly Candy Co. in 2001.

In 2006, Lisa was promoted to vice-president, administration, before taking on the role of vice-chairman of the board. In 2015 she was named president and CEO of the company. Admitting she remains deeply tied to the traditions of the family business, Lisa says she is also very open to innovations that will help the company continue to grow.

Lisa says her father’s integrity, honesty, perseverance and out-of- the-box thinking has left a lasting impression on her and she is proud there are currently 12 members of the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th generations working at Jelly Belly. She is also honored to be able to direct the company’s active support of many charities.

Serving as the Western Candy Conference Chairman in 1999, Lisa continued on the Board of Directors until 2008. Since 2017, she has served on the NCA Board of Directors. Recognized as a spokesperson for Jelly Belly and the industry, Lisa has given more than 60 interviews for television, radio, print and online media.

Outside of the industry, Lisa has been a youth group leader at her church, Valley Church Vacaville, for 19 years. She also served on the Board of Directors of a local homeless shelter for four years and has been active with the Tug McGraw Foundation honoring World War II veterans. Lisa recently had the honor of accompanying 32 of these vets to The National World War II Museum in New Orleans.

Lisa married Wayne Brasher in Suisun, CA, in April 1998 and they have four children; Eric Brasher, Andrea Brasher-Liese, Trevor Parkinson and Kayla Parkinson; and five grandchildren, Kirsten, Kelsey, Ashton, Jackson and Bronsen.