Haribo Goldbears, the world’s first gummy bears

[imadethis]

There used to be a policy that children could collect a bag of chestnuts and exchange them for free Haribo at the factory or office in Germany. It was nominally to feed the deer or horses on the Riegels’ estate. I went to school in Bad Godesberg as a kid, and getting ahold of conkers was much easier than convincing my parents that stopping at the factory was a good decision.

[dual_dingo]

According to german Wikipedia, this still happens but has moved from Bonn to Grafschaft. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haribo#Verschiedenes

[wly_cdgr]

I now like Albanese the best, but I will always have a special respect and affection for Haribo. Happy Birthday to them!

[aaaaaaaaata]

Albanese over Black Forest?

[gambiting]

And for some reason that I literally can't understand, the original gold bears are almost unavailable in UK. British people seem to only like starmix(with those foam-like gummies) and tang fastic with its sour coating. I've only been able to find regular gold bears in the halal version in the "world foods" section at some supermarkets. Like, I get that countries get their regional versions, but why isn't the classic available here???

[dairylee]

> And for some reason that I literally can't understand, the original gold bears are almost unavailable in UK

Like someone else has mentioned you're more likely to find them in corner shops and in the discount stores like Home Bargains and B&M.

But in my opinion they're probably not readily available because they're just not very popular. Gummy Bears are a bit boring and bland compared to the other sweets available.

Growing up I'd sometimes get a 10p mix up from the corner shop after school and there's no way I'd have wasted a penny on a gummy bear when I could have gotten a giant strawberry, a ufo, a black jack, a fruit salad, a fried egg, or best of all a foam shrimp/banana.

[unfunco]

If you're trying to find them in supermarkets you'll struggle, I see them all the time in the corner shops though, where you'll also find a much better crisps selection.

[olyjohn]

Huh. I see them here in the US just about everywhere. I've seen them at gas stations, grocery stores, and convenience stores. I eat way too many gummy bears probably.

[s_dev]

I find that hard to believe -- Goldbears are in every second shop in Ireland. Where are we getting them from if not the UK? Jungle Mix is superior anyhow.

[lozenge]

This sounds like shrinkflation? Those foam gummies take up more space with less sugar. Even if they're less liked, most people aren't going to put in any effort to source some sweets.

[deadbunny]

They're available on Ocado, I buy them at least once a month.

[sdze]

Maybe in UK most of the people don't eat pig (gelatin). Haribo is not vegan and contains pig substance.

[comex]

But why were they renamed from Dancing Bears to Goldbears? The name has always puzzled me, since I would expect it to refer to a yellow candy, when in fact yellow is only one of the multiple different colors of gummi bears mixed in the package. I wonder if it used to be different; the article doesn’t say.

[eru]

German Wikipedia suggests that they renamed purely for branding. (Perhaps the dancing bears were too generic and couldn't be trademarked?)

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haribo

However this German newspaper says something about dancing bears being seen animal abuse, and thus bad marketing:

https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/rhein-kreis/geliebt-und-gef...

(Google Translate is your friend, if you don't read German.)

https://www.spektrum.de/magazin/faszinierende-chemische-expe... suggests that they didn't just change the name, but also the recipe:

> The gummy bears were invented in 1922 by the Bonn entrepreneur Hans Riegel, who christened his creation »Dancing Bear«. It was not until 1960 that the colorful fellows were renamed »Goldbears«. The dancing bears were significantly softer than their successors: Instead of the gelatine used today, a mixture of animal proteins, they consisted mainly of the plant sap gum arabic, which contains various polysaccharides (multiple sugars). Numerous companies now produce gummy bears and other fruit gums in many variations.

(via Google Translate)

[ajmurmann]

Dancing Bears/Tanzbären is a super sad and kinda offensive name. Just look up photos of some actual dancing bears and read how they used to be treated.

[tmikaeld]

Maybe it was better received in Germany at the time?

I'd be surprised if they didn't make studies and test groups

[mcphage]

Also, still the best.

[rblatz]

I don’t really like them, too hard and the flavors lacking in my opinion. Albanese 12 flavor gummy bears though… those are my jam.

https://www.amazon.com/Albanese-Candy-Flavor-Gummi-Assorted/...

[ahartmetz]

The version with real juice ("Saft") is the best IMO.

[tannhaeuser]

Idk, personally I (and the kids I'm giving those) prefer other Haribo candies, like Tropi Frutti, Color-Rado, and wildly strange seasonal creations, especially if made of natural ingredients only.

[aaaaaaaaata]

Have you had Black Forest bears or worms?

[formerkrogemp]

"When I die, as I will, choking on gummy bears, please tell everyone that I died by a bear attack to preserve my dignity. Thank you."

[dontbenebby]

Thank you OP! I love it when even without a click to a possibly tracker laden URL I can learn something just from the headline of an HN post served over HTTPS :-)

[taspeotis]

Related

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2JGNJ5ZPJT4YC

(NSFW)

[ChrisMarshallNY]

This one was my fave: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RZFIYJTPVUZ94/ref...

[lqet]

The L.A. beast ate a 5 pound bag. The results were... as expected.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMjgaa5j_LE

[dylan604]

In what way was that NSFW?

[atentaten]

I don't recall seeing reviews of such length and style for a product on Amazon. Is it only Haribo Goldbears that elicits such heartfelt, eloquent and entertaining reviews?

[OttPeterR]

a classic

[m-p-3]

For some reason I always thought Haribo was a Japanese product because of the name.

[riedel]

Actually they have been ''globalized': They moved from Bonn (as still in the name) a few km across the state border to to Rhineland Palladia. At least that is what I saw driving by on the highway. I guess to save taxes.

Another funny thing is that as a vegetarian I realized quite late that this is a meat product (gelantine). It remains the only "meat" I eat kind of regularly because, as mentioned somewhere, they are still the best.

[pvg]

If you get the jingle lodged in your brain, you'll never forget or escape their profound Germanness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9YuOuP44Rc

[jinwoo68]

Many people used to think that Nokia was a Japanese company too.

[Sharlin]

AFAIK Western-style sweets/candies aren’t very popular or common in Japan, at least historically.

[jansan]

In case someone overlooked it in the article, the name HARIBO comes from HAns RIedel BOnn (company owner's name and location of company).

[pimlottc]

Always seemed Mexican to me for some odd reason.

[sj4nz]

Oddly enough, the first time I ever had gummy bears was at the Smithsonian.