diff --git a/features.export.inc b/features.export.inc
index 2594865..0a13fb6 100644
--- a/features.export.inc
+++ b/features.export.inc
@@ -461,7 +461,13 @@ function features_var_export($var, $prefix = '', $init = TRUE) {
       $output = "array(\n";
       foreach ($var as $key => $value) {
         // Using normal var_export on the key to ensure correct quoting.
-        $output .= "  " . var_export($key, TRUE) . " => " . features_var_export($value, '  ', FALSE) . ",\n";
+        $output .= "  " . var_export($key, TRUE) . " => ";
+        $export = features_var_export($value, '  ', FALSE);
+        // Determine if the returned string is JSON; if so, wrap in quotes.
+        if (json_decode($export)) {
+          $export = "'" . $export . "'";
+        }
+        $output .= $export . ",\n";
       }
       $output .= ')';
     }