Hershey’s chocolate bars. Lifesavers. Snickers. Dots. Sour Patch Kids. Kit Kats. Jolly Ranchers. Milky Way bars.
All good candies, but they cannot compare to the classic HARIBO gummy bear.
Those who are craving a late-night snack that explods with flavor should look no further than HARIBO, a German candy company named for founder HAns RIegel BOnn. While the company is known for its Goldbears, or gummy bears, as most students call them, they manufacture a number of candies, most of which are variations on a theme.
The Goldbears line celebrated its 100th birthday in 2022, and claims to be “America’s #1 gummy” according to IRI data from 2022.
The Goldbears are packaged in a shiny, metallic gold plastic that draws the consumer’s eye. It is airtight so the bears do not become stale, and a clear strip in the center of the packaging allows customers to view the colorful gummies before purchasing.
The HARIBO company has embraced inflation, causing the pocket-size bag of Goldbears to sit at $2.49. For a small, 2 oz. bag of candy, this pricetag is quite expensive.
The texture of the product is firm at first, though not overly so. Still, in the Chronicle’s taste tests, the gummies were hard enough that the staff checked the expiration date of the candies: all clear by three months. The tough exterior quickly gives way to a chewy and soft interior. Best of all, compared to other gummies, HARIBO does not stick to the consumer’s teeth.
As for taste, the HARIBO Goldbears are chewy and flavorful, just as the consumer expects. Some – the yellow, for example – include a slightly sour tang, but the taste is subtle. The product, overall, actually has a fruity flavor, unlike other gummies. Each color tastes like the fruit it represents: raspberry (red), orange (orange), lemon (yellow), pineapple (clear), and strawberry (green).
One might feel badly about biting the heads off of the sweet, little bears, but they are sometimes hard to resist. Depite their small size, they are packed with flavor, and while gummy bears may not be everyone’s favorite choice, it is easy to see why these are #1 in America.
