Manufacturers offer a variety of sizes, including bears that weigh several kilograms. Haribo golden bears are gummy bears that come in a variety of different flavors. This year, Haribo celebrates the 100th anniversary of its most iconic gummy bears with limited-edition launches, including single-flavor bags and blue raspberry-flavored party hats, as well as a raffle in which four winners will spend a week's vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Although Riegel was the first to create gummies in the shape of a bear, the history of these jelly-based candies predates their invention.
According to Beth Kimmerle, author of four books on the American confectionery industry, gummies are derived from precursors such as gummy, Turkish Delight and wine gum (a non-alcoholic treat from the United Kingdom).
Riegel was far from the only candy businessman active in the early 1920s.
Amend came up with Chuckles, a sugar-coated jelly candy, while Henry Heide, of German origin, emigrated to the United States, but Riegel made his mark thanks to his great business acumen, applying new advances in flavoring and coloring methods “because he knew that candies are based on appearance and texture,” says Kimmerle. After the peak of the 1930s, the Second World War abruptly paralyzed Haribo's success. Riegel's children, Paul and Hans Riegel Jr.The couple's children took over the leadership of Haribo the following year, with Paul overseeing the production and Hans Jr. In the decades following World War II, Haribo expanded across Europe, and Goldbears even crossed the Berlin Wall to reach East Germany. Although gummies were sold at the government-owned Intershops, most East Germans couldn't buy them, as these stores catered to outside visitors and only accepted foreign currency. On the contrary, Bahlmann explains, some West German residents included golden bears in aid packages sent to friends and family in East Germany.
According to Bahlmann, an archival investigation carried out by Haribo found no evidence that the company used forced labor during the war. Lauren Triffler, director of corporate communications at Haribo of America, says the investigation found no evidence that the company's wax suppliers practiced modern slavery. Even so, the company decided to change suppliers and eventually stopped using carnauba wax and replaced the ingredient with beeswax. Haribo also became a founding member of the Responsible Carnauba Initiative.
With an inventory of more than 1,000 products, Haribo's offering goes far beyond its flagship Goldbears. Among other candies, the company's range includes Happy-Cola gummies with soda flavor, Sour Goldbears, Alphabet Letters and a Starmix with Haribo's best-selling products. Some Haribo candies are exclusive to some countries. United Kingdom In France and Germany, blue gummies pay homage to the Smurf cartoons.
The keys to Haribo's success include the consistency and quality of its candies and the commercialization of its products. Bahlmann, for his part, attributes the company's lasting success to the outburst of childhood nostalgia caused by the purchase of Haribo candies. He became independent and founded a new candy company called Haribo, an abbreviation derived from his name and hometown of Bonn (Hans Riegel Bonn). As Kimmerle points out, Goelitz was already making jelly beans, fruity pectin-based candies molded with starch, but “I wanted to emulate the fruit-flavored gummy bears enjoyed on the other side of the Atlantic.
To compete with Goelitz, Trolli and other candy companies, Haribo updated its packaging and flavors and began selling its products in supermarkets and other major retailers. Haribo gummy bears have undergone multiple remodels over the decades, most notably in 1960, when the company changed the name of its dancing bears to Goldbears.
