gummy bear

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Gummy bears were born in the 1920s by Hans Riegel, a confectioner in Bonn, Germany who founded Haribo. Originally, they sold clear, hard candies but found success with his Gummibär, literally “gum bear” in German.

Riegel made the gelatin candies from gum arabic and shaped them into bears, apparently inspired by the popular entertainment of trained bears in Europe around the time.

Haribo’s original gummies were longer, thinner, and less colorful than their smaller, brighter counterparts, which took shape in the 1960s across Europe. As the story goes, they become popular in the US in the 1970s when soldiers stationed in Germany brought back the multicolored, multiflavored treats for their families.

Riegel’s gelatin genius created a confectionary trend, sparking many other gummy shapes (worms, hamburgers) and gummy competitors, like Trolli, which also launched in Germany. Thanks to Gummibär, English speakers call the candy gummy bears, regardless of the maker.

His genius also inspired some culture, too, including Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears (1985–91). Apparently inspired by the candy, this cartoon followed the Gummi Bears, magical humanoid bears who very adept at bouncing. In 2007, the Berlin-based Gummibär, a virtual green bear character, had an international hit with the novelty song “I’m a Gummy Bear (The Gummy Bear Song).”