Foodies shocked to learn the green gummy bear is strawberry flavoured and what Haribo stands for

Foodies have been sent into a spin after discovering what flavour Haribo’s green gummy bears are as the meaning behind the brand’s name is also revealed. 

Candy lovers noticed the gummy bear packet says the green flavour is supposed to be strawberry and not apple or lime like many thought. 

Haribo have also explained the name comes from an acronym of the founder’s name and the city in which he was born.

Hans Reigel, who established Haribo in 1920, is from Bonn in Germany which is just south of Cologne and is also known as the birthplace of composer Beethoven.

The name Haribo is made up of the first two letters of Hans’ first name, last name and the city he was born in.  

The name Haribo is made up of the first two letters of founder Hans Reigel’s first name, last name and the German city he was born in, Bonn

There are five flavours of Goldbears which can vary between different countries. 

In most places, the green Goldbear is strawberry flavoured, the yellow is lemon, orange is orange; red Goldbear is raspberry and the translucent bear is pineapple. 

The discovery which is printed on the packet, sparked a lively discussion online among fans of the lolly brand who said they thought the green flavour was watermelon, lime or apple. 

‘I was positive they were apple flavoured. Man, now I don’t know what to think,’ one woman said. 

‘That’s why I like the green ones! I thought it was weird, because I usually only like pink/red strawberry candy,’ a second replied. 

‘I literally just noticed this today on the back of a bag of Xmas Haribo Gummy Bears for the first time in my life. I’ve been eating these forever and always assumed it was just some variation of apple,’ a third added.  

‘I noticed this a few weeks ago, I thought it was super weird I’ve never seen a green strawberry flavour EVER,’ another wrote.  

People were also shocked by the origin of the company’s name with one joking: ‘I’ll call them HansRiegelBonn bears from now on.’

‘Considering that Riegel is German for ‘bar’ (as in candy bar), I feel like he missed out on a few key products and marketing crossovers,’ another pointed out. 

‘Fun fact: Gummi means rubber in German,’ a third added.