I've got a question...

The name HARIBO comes from HAns RIegel BOnn. Hans Riegel was the founder of the company, born in 1898 in Friesdorf (a region of Bonn). In 1920, the company was registered into the Bonn trade register as HARIBO, an acronym of his name and the place Bonn.

In the UK, we don’t have packs of one specific flavour or colour of Goldbears.  We know that variety of flavours and the colour combinations of sweet pieces are two of the things that make HARIBO fans love it so! We’re really sorry if you’re a fan who prefers a specific flavour or colour, but at least that gives you an extra reason to share your HARIBO which is one thing that makes it so fun!

Liquorice is made from the root of the liquorice plant (Glycyrrhiza glabra). The roots are washed, peeled, dried then grated and boiled in water. The result is a thick, black mass that is poured into blocks before cooling. These liquorice blocks are then chopped into small pieces at HARIBO before being processed further. The pieces are dissolved in hot water and thinned until the raw liquorice is suitable for the individual liquorice varieties (at least 3 percent liquorice content must be present).

The sugar that we use today as one of our daily foodstuffs is the same as that used in industrial production and is made from sugar beet. The high sugar content of beet was discovered only in the middle of the 18th century. And industrial sugar extraction on a grand scale only began to take off after the turn of the century. As of the middle of the 19th century, beet sugar increasingly became affordable to the wider populace.

The production of HARIBO products is subject to extremely high and internationally standardised hygiene and quality standards. The so-called "International Food Standard“ (IFS) serves to ensure the highest possible levels of food safety for the consumer. This means that in order to protect the entire production and filling process it is not possible for groups of visitors to be shown through the factory halls.

The one exception here in the UK is for the Little Apprentices event that is held on an annual basis.  At this event, 10 winners of our Little Apprentices competition are given the opportunity to come to the HARIBO UK factory and work with us for a day, taste testing new products and sharing their ideas.  As part of the day, these children are able to take a tour of the factory although this is subject to incredibly strict rules and regulations that ensure that hygiene and quality is in no way compromised in this one off event.

We are always happy to hear from our consumers and are proud of the fact that you all take such an interest in the HARIBO range. We do take the time to read any product ideas that are sent to us as they are often very insightful, but we are unable to progress any ideas we receive from the public. As the UKs leading gums and jellies brand, we have a dedicated Product Development Team who are constantly looking into innovations that will bring something new to the marketplace.  We have a host of new products some of which are already in production that will hit the shelves in the coming months and we hope you like them!

We have a certain number of sponsorships and charities that we support annually and we review this each year.  Throughout the year, we do receive a number of donation and sponsorship requests and we are more than happy to review these on an individual basis. We ask that any requests are sent to us using our contact form here on the website. If you go to Contact and add your enquiry it will be sent directly to the right person in the HARIBO team to deal with it.

Here in the UK HARIBO Starmix is our best selling product. We believe it’s the iconic shapes that everyone has come to know and love that make this product so popular.

We do have a selection of products that are suitable for vegetarians.  The gelatine ingredient used in our other products is replaced with starch.  For more information and to see which products are within the Vegetarian range click here.

Haribo offers a variety of specialist products for consumers with Halal dietary requirements.  If you would like to see a list of all Halal products please click here.