The “Golden Bears”, the brand’s flagship sweets Haribo, are celebrating their hundredth anniversary. They are the brand’s biggest hit German and represent almost a third of its turnover, according to BFM Business .
The Goldbären in the original German version were born in 1922. A product inseparable from the Haribo brand: no less than 160 million bears leave the production lines of the German confectionery giant every day. It is today, by far, the first reference of the group at the world level, for which it represents almost a third of the turnover.
These gummy bears are almost as old as the company itself. Hans Riegel, who founded Haribo in 1920, needed a star product. Contrary to the habits of the time, he decided to give his candy a shape: he chose the bear and named it Tanzbär, “dancing bear”, inspired by these shows popular in Germany until the beginning of the 20th century. The Tanzbär, made with gum arabic and not gelatin like today, received its colors and aromas the same year.
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The gummy bears at their beginning, in Germany. © Photo: Haribo
Sold individually, it enjoyed notable success in a country ravaged by inflation. After the war, when Hans Riegel’s sons took over the business, he experienced a second youth. It was in the 1960s that the candy as we know it today was truly created. The sachet replaces the tin can to adapt to new consumer habits. The Tanzbär is renamed Goldbären. Now mass produced, it leaves its native land to be exported all over Europe
The French prefer the Dragibus and Tagada
Above all, it’s a complete makeover: the bear becomes smaller, rounder, more colorful. “It’s a stroke of marketing genius”, assures Jean-Philippe André, president of Haribo France, interviewed by BFM TV. The bear has “accompanied the development of the group”. The recipe has changed little since that time, but it adapts to customers: the dimensions do not change (10 millimeters wide by 23 millimeters high for 2.3 grams exactly) but the taste, color or texture may vary from country to country.
Unlike other countries like the United Stateswhere teddy bears account for 80% of the group’s sales, competition is fierce in France within the Haribo portfolio itself, which weighs 43% in value of the tricolor sugar confectionery market. The French prefer Tagada, Smurfs, Dragibus and other crocodiles: for each kilogram of Goldbears sold, Haribo sells around 5kg of Dragibus. As the famous advertising slogan says: “Haribo, life is beautiful, for young and old”…
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