Haribo

In 2003, I spent almost a year in Bretten, a small city in Southwest Germany, state of Baden-Wuerttenberg. It was there where I first looked for things I missed in Brazil and enjoyed my time trying new and different kinds of foods and beverages. By the French border, close to Switzerland and nearly few hours by train anywhere I was literally in the heart of Europe, it was a joy to start my hunt for new experiences.

I can say that Haribo is the first European brand I missed when I got back to Brazil in 2004. The only product we could find in the shelf was mainly the Goldbaeren, imported exclusively by gourmet shops in the biggest cities.

I believe I've already mentioned that wherever I go, I try to find familiar and new products on markets and buy a few of them to bring back home. Haribo is one of those brands that aren't too hard to find - the real deal is to find those products I'll fall in love with. I particularly enjoy the sweet and sour flavours I got to know in the UK (Tangfastics), so my hunt is pretty much for those ones, and sometimes is quite hard to find.

Doing a bit of research we could check that Haribo is an acronym for "HAns RIegel aus BOenn", it was founded after the First World War and its operations moved outside Germany in the following years. Today Haribo has thirteen plants Europe (those five in Germany alone), exporting to over 100 countries. In the UK, Haribo brand has 30 different products,.

Its most popular product, Goldbaeren, has improved its image over the years. Its first name was Tanzbaeren, the bears were taller and slimmer than what we know today, they were sold by units in cardboard boxes or in decorative tins. The second version came in the 1950s, Teddybaeren, looking much smaller and robust, and in an innovative and more attractive cellophane packaging. However it was only a decade later that the company decided to registered its trademark (Goldbaeren) and officially link it to the genuine and innocent smiling gold bear with a red bow tie in the package. So Haribo invested in its most famous product, creating and adding value to its brand, well-known in Europe and somehow around the world too.

www.haribo.com