I was lucky. When I was a child, my Opa sent brown-wrapped parcels filled with sweets to America. And inside there were always packets of German Haribo Gummi Bears. When my kids were young, we started seeing Gummi bears in American stores. But, they weren’t quite the same… and I wondered, Are German and American Gummi Bears different?
April 27th is National Gummi Bear Day
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Haribo Gummi Bears
The story goes something like this…. in 1920. Hans Riegel started the Haribo candy company out of his kitchen with ” a sack of sugar, a marble slab, a stool, a walled-up stove, a copper kettle, and a roller.”. He experimented with shapes and textures of candies, and by 1922, the first little “Dancing Bear” was made from fruit gum. This thinner bear looked like the beloved dancing bears that traveled with circuses and entertainers in Europe. By the 1960s, the shape rounded out a bit, and the Haribo gummi bears got a new name Goldbär!
It took until 1982, for the Haribo Gummi Bear to arrive in America. Suddenly the Gummi Bears were everywhere… even on TV! Disney created “The Adventures of the Gummi Bears”, a sort of colorful medieval adventure series. (Note- These Gummi Bears dealt with dragons, helped humans, and were not edible). Then in 2023, Haribo opened its first US factory in Prairie, Wisconsin. Today, the company operates in 16 factories worldwide producing 160 million Gummy bears every day.
Now you can find Haribo Gummi Bears in almost every Grocery Store. The packaging looked similar to the German version but with slight differences.
What is the difference Between German and American Haribo Bears?
The primary difference between German and American Haribo bears is the ingredients… In Germany, Corn Syrup and Artificial flavorings are not allowed, so the colors and flavors are more subtle. Also, the German Bears are more chewy than their softer American cousins.
Also, in Germany, the strawberry flavored Gummi Bear is pink, while in America, it’s green. This is a bit confusing… but be aware that the green bear in Germany is apple flavored, and apple doesn’t come in the American Bear mix…
German: Glucose syrup; sugar; gelatin; dextrose; fruit juice from concentrate: apple, strawberry, raspberry, orange, lemon, pineapple; citric acid, lemon, pineapple; citric acid; fruit and plant concentrates: nettle, apple, spinach, kiwi, orange, elderberry, lemon, mango, passionfruit, blackcurrant, Aronia, grape; flavorings; glazing agents: white and yellow beeswax; carnauba wax; elderberry extract; fruit extract from carob; invert sugar syrup
American: Corn syrup, sugar, gelatin, dextrose, citric acid, starch, artificial and natural flavors, fractionated coconut oil, carnauba wax, beeswax coating, artificial colors: yellow 5, red 40, blue 1
Haribo Gold Bears in a Bear BoxGerman Shop 24
Haribo Gummi Bear Flavors
German Gummi Bear Flavors
Raspberry- Red
Orange- Orange
Lemon- Yellow
Pineapple- Clear
Strawberry- Pink
Apple- Green
American Gummi Bear Flavors
Raspberry- Red
Orange- Orange
Lemon- Yellow
Pineapple – Clear
Strawberry- Green
Buy German Haribo Gummi Bears
Tasty German made original Haribo Goldbären are my favorite… When my kids were small, I kept the mini packets in my purse as a quick special treat for them while on the go. (And now I keep them for myself)
Haribo GoldbärenGerman Shop 24Haribo Gold Bears Tub mini packetsGerman Shop 24
Other special Goldbären Varieties…
Juicy, Sour and the special limited Fan-Edition with new flavors chosen by super Haribo fans!
Haribo Juice GoldbaerenHaribo Goldbären Sauer (Gold Bears Sour) 200g
Haribo Bärli!
OVERSIZED Haribo Bärli from Germany!
OVERSIZED Gummi Bears!GermanShop24
Special Flavors from Haribo of America
Cherry, Watermelon (which tastes like Watermelon candy, and not like Watermelon), Green Apple, and of course, sours…
Haribo of America Sour Gold-Bears Candy, 4.5 Ounce (Pack of 12)Haribo of America Gold Bears Bags, Cherry, 12 Count
Haribo of America Gold Bears Bags, Apple, 12 Count
Haribo of America Watermelon Gold Bears Bags, 12 Count
Looking for other Haribo Gummi Candy and Licorice? Find it here-> Haribo
I remember growing up and receiving special boxes from Oma in Germany. This was back in the 70’s when Gummy Bears were unheard of in the US, or at least in Arizona. They were always included in Oma’s care packages, although there were never enough of them.
I agree that there is a difference between American and German gummy bears. Theirs are so much better! They aren’t as sweet and are a lot chewier than the American ones. My family thinks I am strange because I will open a pack of Haribo gummy bears and leave them open so that they firm up and become more like the authentic German ones.
I just found your website and am enjoying going through it very much. My mother was from Germany. She came to America when she married my father in 1958. Unfortunately, she passed in 2012 and he did in 2014. There is so much I wish I had learned from her. Like learning to speak German and how to cook some of her German recipes. However, her cooking was by the eyeball technique instead of measuring her ingredients. So, I am not sure how much I would have learned from her. LOL
The thing that I miss the most is her German accent. She never lost it, even after being in the US for 54 years. I wish I had recorded her, especially of her telling stories of growing up in Bacharach during WWII. Her stories about raising me were not so funny to hear. She always picked the most embarrassing ones. LOL
Anyways, thank you for your website and the memories it brought back to me.
Those boxes were the best… can you remember how they smelled when you opened them? Like Germany.
Thank you so much for your story and your kind words.
Being American, I didn’t have German Gummi Bärchen until I was flying to Germany regularly as a flight attendant. I absolutely loved it there, went to Goethe Institut twice, once in Rothenburg ob der Tauber and once in Freiburg im Breisgau. I took German lessons in America, too, and passed my German proficiency test with my airline on the second try after a year, I was highly motivated! I kept on flying to Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Hamburg, München, and Berlin for many years and love the food, the beer, the wine, white asparagus in any form, and the Gummi Bärchen and Fanta orange soda which are so much better than those in America. They are not so sickly sweet and I wish they were more widely available here! There are two shops that do sell authentic German items here in Maine and whenever I am near one of them I stop in and stock up, but one is an hour away and the other two hours and, of course, the items are quite expensive having had to travel all that way!
I learned to make really tasty schweine and hähnchenschnitzel with pfefferrahmsoße, apfelrotkohl, and bratkartoffeln from a lovely, patient restaurant owner in her restaurant kitchen and several wonderful soups from another in hers, such as wildrahmsuppe and spargelsuppe, both in Mainz where we had our layovers at the time.
Now retired, I surely miss Germany and am so glad I had the opportunities that I did! Thanks for the memories.
Sounds wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing your memories.
Have you considered ordering your German treats online? Here is a list of resources-> https://germangirlinamerica.com/where-buy-german-food-online/