The History, Making and Influences of Gummi Bears

The Historic Legacy of the Gummi Bear: Hans Reigel, Haribo®, And the Candy Creation that Continues to Inspire Today

What child hasn’t gnawed upon some form of gummi candy and marveled at its taste and texture? Anyone with a sweet tooth could technically be considered a candy connoisseur, but there’s a big difference between knowing candy and knowing about candy. I can’t tell you the number of times I slurped up a gummi worm as a kid, all for the joy of grossing out my stepmother, or fought with my sister for the last of my favorite flavored gummi bear—and yet, not once during my childhood did I ponder how these delightful treats were created. Now, entering my 30s, I find such shows as Food Network’s Unwrapped and The Science Channel’s How It’s Made fascinating. My interest in these shows prodded me into investigating some historical backgrounds and production methods of items I find interesting. For my first venture, I chose to delve into the gelatinous depths of gummi history. 

The original creator of the gummi bear, or Gummibär, meaning “rubber bear,” was a German man named Hans Riegel. Born in 1893 in Friesdorf, a village near Bonn, Germany, to Peter and Agnes Riegel, his first exposure to candy making was as a confectioner for the candy company Kleutgen & Meier in Bonn-Bad Godesberg. In December 1920, at age 27, he decided to enter the candy market himself by starting his own candy company. Hans decided to name his company Haribo. The “HA” came from Hans, the “RI” came from Riegel, and “BO” came from Bonn. Haribo started out with a few meager items, including a single bag of sugar, a sheet of marble, an oven, a kettle and a rolling pin. With these items and some hard work, Haribo started out making hard candies. Hans married Gertrud in 1921 and she became his first coworker. Hans made the candies and Gertrud loaded them into her bicycle basket and rode to Bonn every day to deliver the candy to their customers.