Johannes "Hans" Riegel Sr. (4 April 1893 – 31 March 1945) was a German confectioner who invented the gummy bear in 1920 and founded the Haribo company.[1]
Haribo
After leaving his job at a confectionary factory he founded the sweet company, choosing the name by mixing together the first two letters of his name Hans Riegel and the city of Bonn, where he was born.[2][3]
The company was passed on to his sons, Hans Riegel Jr. and Paul Riegel, following his death in 1945. The company was managed by Gertrud for the first year after Hans’ death as Hans Jr and Paul were still prisoners of war at this time;[4] they were set free in 1946 and subsequently took charge of the company until their deaths.[5]