TFWA Cannes 2022 was a special week for the HARIBO travel retail team as they joined with retail partners to celebrate the 100th birthday of HARIBO Goldbears, the best-selling product in sugar confectionery in many regions in travel retail and in several domestic markets, according to research commissioned by HARIBO.
HARIBO Goldbears have a remarkable history dating back to their creation in 1922 by Hans Riegel, the founder of HARIBO, who hand-crafted the colorful gummy dancing bears in his home. His mission then - to give people a moment of happiness with a small affordable luxury - has remained a constant objective of the company throughout the last 100 years and is as apt in today’s economic climate as it was in 1922 inflation-ridden Germany.
The cheerful bright colors and fruity flavors have been at the heart of HARIBO’s fruit gummy bears since the first generation. With the invention of gummy dancing bears, Hans Riegel was in fact pioneering a new global market, laying the foundation for the international success of his young company at an early stage.
In the 1960s, his sons, Dr. Hans Riegel and Paul Riegel, joined their father in managing the company, and the dancing bears became smaller and rounder Goldbears. The iconic packaging design, first created in 1961, is instantly recognisable on confectionery shelves around the world. Another subtle but significant change to the character of the bears came in 1999 when designer Petra Wrede gave the bears an irresistible smile, reflecting Hans Riegel’s dream to give people a moment of happiness.
From the dancing bear in 1922 to their current persona, the Goldbears are the epitome of HARIBO and have always remained true to character: they taste like the best memories of childhood and will still do so 100 years from now, thanks to a closely guarded recipe.
Now under the leadership of Hans Guido Riegel, the third generation of the family to run the business, HARIBO Goldbears are available across the world with 160 million HARIBO Goldbears produced every day. Lined up end to end, the annual production of GoldBears would circle the earth 10 times.
Consumer recognition of the iconic GoldBear also reaches around the world with, on average, one in four people globally being able to instantly identify them as HARIBO Goldbears and, in leading markets such as Germany, Austria, Denmark and France, the awareness is almost 100%, according to the Yearly HARIBO Global Brand Tracking study.
