Haribo: the world's sweetest Family Company

If you think about a candy, you think about the Goldbears, probably the most famous candy in the world.

What if I tell you that the Haribo's gummy bear is a hundred years old (a hundred and one to be precise) and was born in an old laundry?

Hans Riegel founded his own candy company in 1920, he named it Haribo, (Hans Riegel Bonn). He started in an old laundry with just a small kitchen, a pot and tons of sugar. His wife, Gertrud, was the one who delivered the candy Hans was producing, with a bicycle. She was the only employee.

In 1922, Hans invented the Dancing Bears, inspired by the European tradition of dancing bears entertaining children during festivals. The Dancing Bears were a bit different than the Goaldbears, they were larger and slimmer.

Hans didn't want his candy to be a normal candy, he wanted something with a personality and a carachterization.

For me this was the first differentiator that allowed its products to become a worldwide success.?

The Goldbears are a brand. And as a brand they need to have personality. Hans probably didn't know this by the time, but he surely knew how to produce something different from the rest of the market.

Of course, the war influenced the company, and Hans unfortunately died very young in 1945. By the time the company was directed by Gertrud, because their sons were fighting in the World War II.

After the war, Paul and Hans Jr., sons of Hans and Gertrud, took control of the company. Paul was overseeing production while Hans Jr. was in charge of Marketing and Sales.

Yes, we all know that the company is still property of the Riegel family. Yes, we all know that Haribo now have hundreds of employees all over the world (they are also building their first manufacturing plant in North America btw).

But, I think there is a second differentiator that made the company success: its arrival in the U.S. market in 1982.

I know what you are thinking: "in 1982? isn't a bit late for a company like that?". Yes and no.

In the U.S. there were already candy manufacturer that were leading the market, the most important was Goelitz Candy Company (maybe it's more clear if I say Jelly Belly). The Goelitz Candy Company was already producing gummy bears, so it was a very delicate decision to enter the market with such an established competitor (and it wasn't the only one).

In order to beat the competition, Haribo made its gummy bear very popular: their strategy involved selling Goldbears in supermarkets and choosing major retailers. They positioned their product in places accessible to everyone, and this together with a communication campaign based on the pop culture made the Goldbears a success in the U.S just as worldwide.

Resuming we can find two keywords in the Haribo history:

• Product (brand) clear personality and positioning;
• A winning selling strategy and market positioning.

The Goldbears are a hundred years old, but we have still a lot to learn from them.