Hans Riegel, the founder of HARIBO, created the first bear model, the source of today’s Goldbears, back in 1922. They were called Dancing Bears. His inspiration for these “Dancing Bears” where the trained bears that showed up as regular entertainment features at nineteenth century fairs and festivals.
Traveling performers presented these chained bears for the crowd’s amusement. People enjoyed their little tricks and lumbering dances, however for the bears, this sort of activity was obviously of dubious pleasure.
The fruit gum Dancing Bear was larger but also thinner than today’s Goldbears. It quickly took its place next to the Sweet Devils as one of the classics of the HARIBO product line. Two Dancing Bears cost only a pfennig in inflation-sheltered Germany. In 1925, Hans Riegel also started producing liquorices sweets- and the Dancing Bear acquired a cousin, the so called Black Bear.
