I Just Realised What 'HARIBO' Actually Stands For, And It's Pretty Smart

We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how Twix’s name is secretly a clever portmanteau, as well as the surprising pop culture reason Wagon Wheels got called that. 

But what about HARIBO, the ridiculously popular sweets brand? Does their name mean anything at all? 

Well, it turns out it does ― and like Twix, the brand’s name is a mixture of different words that are pretty meaningful to the company.

Why’s Haribo called Haribo? 

The name is a combination of, well, names. 

Per Haribo’s site, “The name HARIBO comes from HAns RIegel BOnn.” 

They explain that “Hans Riegel was the founder of the company, born in 1893 in Friesdorf (a region of Bonn).”

“In 1920, the company was registered into the Bonn trade register as HARIBO ― an acronym of Hans’ name and the place Bonn,” HARIBO adds. 

I guess that’s why its name is all caps ― it’s both a brand name and an acronym. 

Before then, Hans Riegel had been a partner in the Heinen & Riegel company. Once HARIBO had been formed, Riegel’s wife was his first employee.

Huh! 

Yup! And per Forbes, the company is still owned by the same family. 

Though the company started out in Germany, it now has 16 production plants in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, the UK, Hungary, Turkey and Brazil.

Per Scottish Grocer & Convenience Retailer, HARIBO Tangfastics (the best ones, IMO) are the UK’s ninth favourite sweets.

HARIBO’s site backs that up, though adds that there’s more in-house competition than you’d think; “Here in the UK, HARIBO Starmix and HARIBO Tangfastics are constantly battling it out for the top spot,” the entry reads.

This year, the introduction of new products (like the undeniably adorable limited-edition Awesome Axolotls) saw HARIBO sales soar in Britain in 2023.

Not bad for the eponymous Riegels, right?