The man who was the brains behind the original gummy bear died at the age of 90 due to heart failure, his Haribo office in Germany said in a statement on Tuesday.
Hans Riegel spent nearly 70 years leading up the candy company — in the footsteps of his father, who founded Haribo in 1920. It was the junior Mr. Riegal who was credited with building it up into an international brands, however, with export deals with 100 different companies, the New York Post reported.
In fact, Haribo gummy bears became so well known that German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said that “wherever I travelled in recent years, the gummy bears had arrived long before me,” The New York Post said.
Haribo stands for Hans Riegel Bonn, and was a showcase of success in Germany, where small businesses with on-hands management make up the bulk of the nation’s economy. The candy company, based in Bonn, employed 6,000 around the world.
By the time he died, Mr. Riegel had amassed $2.9 billion in wealth — the 32nd richest man in Germany.
News of his death spread on German social media websites.
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One posted at the company’s Facebook page: “Thank you Hans Riegel, for making our lives sweeter!”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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