The beginnings of Haribo

On December 13, 1920, the Haribo company was entered into the Bonn commercial register by company founder Johann “Hans” Riegel. The company name is an acronym and is derived from the first two letters of his first and last name as well as the first two letters of the location ( Hans Riegel Bo nn). According to the company, the starting capital was a sack of sugar, a copper kettle, a marble slab, a stool, a brick stove and a roller. The first production facility was in a house on Bergstrasse in the Kessenich district of Bonn that was purchased in the same year. Two years after the company was founded, Hans Riegel invented the forerunner of the gold bear , then called the “dancing bear”. However, this was not only larger than today's gummy bears, but also softer, as gum arabic was used instead of the gelatine that is common today . Continue reading...