Gummi bears (also known as gummy bears) were first produced in Germany in 1922 and sold as Gummibaeren. In German, the name refers to the rubbery consistency of the bear-shaped candy, called Gummi. In English-speaking countries, they became known as gummy bears, conjuring up more of a sticky, gooey substance.
Gummi bears have been produced in Germany since 1922. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2018. www.walled-in-berlin.com
Gummibaeren – Affordable Candy
In elementary school, I had a friend whose father gave her 20 Pfennigs each school day to spend the way she wished. Gabi always invested her 20 Pfennigs in candy and shared the bounty with me. Our visit to the candy took up to 10 minutes and always involved serious deliberation. Quality could not be underestimated, but quantity was equally important. A gummi bears cost 1 Pfennig in those days. They were sold individually. The question always was how many gummi bears and how many pieces of more expensive candy? Should Gabi go for a variety of candy or limit herself to gummi bears? Imagine the amount of time the candy shop owner had to invest just to sell 20 Pfennigs worth of confectionaries.
HARIBO – Gummi Bear Success Story
HAns RIegel, Sr., a confectioner from BOnn, Germany, started a candy manufacturing company in 1920 and named it HARIBO. The name is an acronym, derived from the first two letters of his first and last name and the first two letters of the city where his business was registered. In 1922, some trained bears at street festivals caught his attention, and with only a few simple candy making tools and a sack of sugar, Riegel Sr. invented the “dancing bear” candy. Even though he made the bears by hand, he was able to produce 200 pounds of the candy per day. His wife delivered the goods on a bicycle.
https://www.landofthegummies.com/the-history-of-the-gummy-bear-how-it-all-came-to-be/
HARIBO remained a family business. After Riegel Sr. passed away in 1945, his two sons, Hans and Paul, took over the company and led it for nearly seven decades. They transformed it from a local candy business with 30 workers into an internationally recognized brand with 6,000 employees around the world and estimated annual sales between $2 billion and $2.7 billion. Still a family business today, HARIBO produces 200 different kinds of candy with third generation Riegels running the business. Gummi bears sell as “HARIBO Goldbears” in the United States.
HARIBO gummy bears. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2018. www.walled-in-berlin.com
What do gummi bears consist of?
The original base ingredient in gummi bears was Gum Arabic, the hardened sap of various acacia tree species. Today, gelatin, sugar, glucose syrup, starch, flavoring, food coloring and citric acid make up the candy. Organic candy and those following religious dietary laws are also available.
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Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
