Have you ever wondered where Gummi Bears came from? Those chewy and brightly colored candies are a staple in the candy world. To think I never gave their origins a second thought! This really interesting article gives an excellent history of this tasty treat.
Gummi Bear (or Gummibär: “Rubber Bear”) originated from German candy maker, Mr. Hans Riegel, whose humble beginnings were running a “mom and pop” candy store (the beginnings of Haribo) with his wife selling hard candies. Soon the two noticed that gelatin candy became popular and seriously considered making their own. Being progressive thinkers for their time, Riegel and his wife decided that shaping the gelatin candy would be a great way to appeal to the children who bought their candy. Molds of a dancing bear were created and history was made! The Gummi Bear was born and the future and fortune of Haribo was secured. All was not without stuggle though as the company went through hard times: during WWII and when Riegel passed away for example.
Aside from the history of the candy you’ll also learn lots of interesting little bits of trivia. For instance, where the name “Haribo” comes from, that bears are the most popular form of Gummi candy, and that originally two Gummi Bears sold for a penny.
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That’s interesting because I always thought Haribo’s gummi bears tasted the best. I didn’t know they really *were* the original gummi bear maker. Interestingly I don’t recall the candies showing up until the 1980s but maybe that’s just because that’s when I became aware of them.
February 5th, 2007 at 10:18 amI miss those colorful gummi bears! Now I know why friends and family from Germany always came home bearing gifts of Haribo’s gummi bears. As a kid in the 80′s, whenever my aunts from Germany came for a visit the gummi bears were always in the goodie bag. Little did I know I was having the best and the original.
February 5th, 2007 at 12:46 pmI love Haribo! I even lost a tooth to the Haribo jelly beans when I was 20–a major rite of passage (albeit an embarrassing story to tell to the dentist).
I’ve never been a big fan of the bears, though. I mean, we all love to bite the heads off, but even that after a while can get a bit boring…Up with the crocodiles, bananas, and strawberry Haribos!
February 6th, 2007 at 4:28 pmMy friend choked on a Haribo Gummi a long time ago and has since refused to ever eat them again. She\’s really missing out. Anyway, I want to know where I can get those HUGGEEE gummies that were featured on another blog. I think Demonbaby. Now those Gummys looked incredible.
RESPONSE: You mean these giant gummi bears?
February 7th, 2007 at 6:41 amBrian
Hmm i guess you really do learn something everyday. I wasn’t expecting to learn the history of gummi bears…ever. Very cool!
February 8th, 2007 at 12:38 amso who is this big old fat young dude who they always call they gummy bear creator?
May 31st, 2007 at 8:16 pm