Haribo Smurfs Gummi Candy 113 g

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Riegel debuted his gummy prototype, dubbed the Dancing Bear, or Tanzbären in German, in 1922. Larger and slimmer than modern gummy bears, the Tanzbären’s shape was reportedly inspired by the real dancing bears that once entertained children at festivals across Europe. The Riegel brothers transformed their father’s company into a candy superpower, expanding its product line and upping the number of employees from just 30 after the war to about 1,000 in 1950. As Haribo continued to grow in the 1950s and ’60s, executives capitalized on new marketing tools, including television. “The brand was one of the first in Germany to do advertisements on television,” says Bahlmann, “so that made [Haribo] and the product really popular.”

Whilst most vegans accept that cross-contamination happens and that manufacturers avoid it where possible, strict vegans and people with severe food allergies may look to avoid any food that has been made in the same environment as ingredients like milk.

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Confectionery was not part of the industry that was considered important for the German government at that time,” he says. “These people [mainly had to] work in coal mines and in other industries that were considered critical for the country.”

Vegetarian Haribo is labelled as vegetarian, but no Haribo sweets are labelled as vegan. This is because there is a risk of cross-contamination within the factories. Haribo may contain traces of animal ingredients, including milk. Another point of strength is Haribo’s continued expansion and ownership by the Riegel family, now in its third generation of candy-making. (Paul died in 2009, while Hans Jr. died in 2013, leaving nephew Hans-Guido in charge of the company.) “They have a tidal wave of competition there,” says Benjamin. “They’ve been able to overcome a lot.” According to Bahlmann, an archival investigation conducted by Haribo found no evidence of the company using forced labor during the war.

The bear character is something cute and loved by children,” says Bahlmann. “... The idea was not to [make] sweets without a certain shape.” Instead, Riegel wanted to give his candy a face and a personality. Though Riegel was the first to create gummies shaped like bears, the history of these gelatin-based sweets actually predates his invention. According to Beth Kimmerle, the author of four books on the American confectionery industry, gummy bears descend from precursors such as the gumdrop, Turkish Delight and wine gum (a non-alcoholic treat originating in the United Kingdom). We know the stories of today [of] Apple [starting] in a garage, and at that time [Haribo] was a little bit like that,” says Christian Bahlmann, Haribo’s senior vice president of corporate communications. “[Riegel had] the will to do something different, to do something on his own, and to start with very few opportunities ... and very [little] money.” My feeling is that the gummy’s true predecessor is jelly or jam, as a way to preserve fruit cooked with pectin, and sometimes starches,” says Kimmerle. “[L]ater on, Japanese rice candies [made] the appeal of jellies portable. Gummies became a way to have a bite of a fruit jelly” on the go.