It’s National Gummi Worm Day, July 15, and grown-ups still want more yummy gummi flavors, more colorful styles, and more silly sizes. Adults, not kids, have made gummi worms one of the most popular candies on earth.
The name ‘gummi’ is the German word for ‘rubber,’ so you can get a satisfying stretch out of the squiggly candy before you pop it in your mouth or just bite its head off.
- 1920 – Gummi Bears were the original Gummi candy created by Hans Riegel, who started the Haribo company in 1920.
- 1945 – The first gummi bear, was made out of licorice and called “dancing bears.” It wasn’t until after World War II that the popular bear-shaped, gelatin-based colorful gummy treats were invented.
- 1981 – Trolli, introduced a gummi “worm” designed to both intrigue kids and gross out their parents.
- 1982 – America didn’t get a taste of gummi bears until 1982 when Haribo opened its American factory in Baltimore.
- 1983 – Scott Albanese opens his first candy store in Merrillville, Indiana when regional unemployment was 16%, and the business thrives.
- His company, HARIBO, is an abbreviation of “Hans Riegel Bonn.”
- 2008 – Hans Riegel Jr. turns down a buyout offer for HARIBO from Warren Buffett.
- 2009 – The French Foreign Legion inducts Hans Riegel into the Legion of Honour as a Chevalier — a rare recognition for a foreigner.
- 2020 – Trolli partners with PlayStation® in ‘The Deliciously Dark Escape,’ in which players help gummi worms disappear into a monster’s mouth to win prizes.
- Gummi Worms are one of the best-selling candies of all time.
- Gummi vs Gummy: As nouns the difference between gummy and gummi is that gummy is (Australian) or gummy can be (usually in the plural) a gummy candy while gummi is a sugary, gelatinous material used to make candies.
- Hans Reigel made the first examples of the gummi bears after being inspired by a circus.
- The Haribo recipe for gummies is a closely guarded secret, but a simple web search will unearth dozens of alternate recipes for homemade gummi treats.
- Most gummy worms are a combo of 2-3 different flavors, each with a different color.
- The green bears are STRAWBERRY FLAVORED! Unless they’re Trolli brand, then they’re lime.
- The clear gummi bears are pineapple flavored!
- You can make vodka shots out of them. An adult use of gummy candy—bears seem to be most often used—is to soak them in vodka for a prescribed amount of time, after which time they become a happy hour treat.
- Adventures of the Gummi Bears was Disney’s first major serialized, animated TV series. Popular legend says Disney CEO Michael Eisner came up the idea when his son requested the candies one day.
- The Gummi Bear Song has more than 88 million views on YouTube. https://youtu.be/mB1PuesGGBc
- According to HARIBO, if you were to take each gummi bear made in a year and line them up head to toe across the planet, they would encircle the earth four times!
- Vat19.com sells sour, 4,000-calorie gummi worms that are 26 inches long, 5 inches around, and weigh in at almost 3 lbs.
- Trolli, whose U.S. operations have been sold over the years to Nabisco, Kraft, Wrigley’s, and Farley’s & Sathers Candy Company, is now part of Ferrara Candy Company and remains one of the top brands. Others are Albanese, Black Forest, Surf Sweets, Sathers, Dr. Snack, and the legendary HARIBO, which now makes more than 1,000 products.
- The world’s largest gummi worm grew up to become a 7-foot, 26-lb., 36,720-calorie snake that will take a $150 bite out of your budget.
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