The Haribo company was founded in 1920 by Hans Riegel. They are known for their gummy bears and other confections. The Haribo brand is so strong that the phrase “gummibär” has acquired a meaning of a loving, playful, and gentle person.
A German guy named Hans Riegel was dissatisfied with his confectionary job 101 years ago, so he decided to start his sweets firm. These hard candies did okay on the street, but not as well as Hans had planned. He came up with a moniker that combined the initial letter of his first and last names and the name of his city of Bonn, Germany. Haribo was founded shortly after that.
After a few years of semi-success with Haribo, Riegel thought it was time to try something new. So he got to work and designed a range of soft, gelatin-based, fruit-flavoured sweets in the shape of miniature “Dancing Bears.” Many people believe Hans invented the gummy bear, although he simply on an old formula. According to candy historian Beth Kimmerle, author of Candy: A Sweet History, “gummy candies descend from Turkish pleasure and even Japanese rice candy.” Unlike gummy bears, those snacks were made of rice or cornstarch. Beth Kimmerle also mentioned that if Hans hadn’t started his firm, the only gummy bears available would be wine gum. They emerged in the United Kingdom in 1909 and were surprisingly non-alcoholic. There were other adhesive brands, but none had the same sweet taste and chewy textures as Hans. To everyone’s amazement, the “Dancing Bears” were a big hit and were extremely popular among children at the beginning of World War ll.
Throughout the conflict, Haribo’s popularity skyrocketed. These gummy bears were taller and slimmer than the ones we know and love today. They even appeared to be real critters that you may observe outside. Then, in 1960, Hans and Paul began promoting the bears across Europe!!! At this time, Haribo started to develop a softer, more kid-friendly Gummibärchen (which translates to little gummy bear in German). After that, The German teachers Began offering their students.
Following the success of gummy bears in the United States, other firms such as The American Jelly Bean Company and Trolley released then versions of gummy bears, with the jelly bean company creating their variety of adhesive bear brand Trolli launching gummy worms. Haribo is battling traditional marketing with many other firms, including the Black Forest.
Haribo’s popularity has grown 101 years aft they were invented, from being on the big screen to appear in advertising.
You can purchase Haribo’s Gummy Bear Here.
By: Helia Mohammadi
Social Media Specialist