- published: 09 Oct 2007
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A gummi bear (also spelled as gummy bear) is a small, rubbery-textured confectionery, similar to a jelly baby in English-speaking countries. The candy is roughly 2 centimetres (0.79 in) long and shaped in the form of a bear. The gummi bear is one of many gummies, popular gelatin-based candies that come in a variety of shapes and colors.
The gummi bear originated in Germany, where it is popular under the name Gummibär (help·info) (rubber bear) or Gummibärchen (help·info) (little rubber bear). Hans Riegel Sr., a candy maker from Bonn, started the Haribo company in 1920. In 1922, he invented the Dancing Bear, a fruit-flavored gum made in the shape of a bear. The success of the Dancing Bear's successor would later become Haribo's world-famous Gold-Bears candy product in 1967.Trolli is another gummi candy manufacturer and the first to introduce gummi worms in 1981. Gummi bears are also one of the few types of candy to have inspired a television show.
The success of gummi bears has spawned many gummi animals and objects: rings, worms, frogs, snakes, hamburgers, cherries, sharks, penguins, hippos, lobsters, octopuses, apples, peaches, oranges, and even Ampelmännchen, Smurfs and spiders. Manufacturers offer sizes from the standard candy size, and smaller, to bears that weigh several kilograms.