National Gummi Bear Day Date in the current year: April 27, 2024

Gummy bears are small, soft and chewy gum candies shaped in the form of a bear. They are one of the most popular types of gummy candy, alongside jelly babies, jelly beans, gummy worms, gumdrops, and cola bottles. The first commercially available gummy candies were produced in England in the 1860s, but it was the German company HARIBO that made them widely popular thanks to its gummy bears.

Haribo (stylized as HARIBO) was founded by German confectioner Hans Riegel Sr. in Bonn in 1920. Its name stands for “Hans Riegel Bonn”. Two years later, Riegel created the world’s first gummy bear. Originally called Tanzbär (Dancing Bear), it was inspired by dancing bears that used to be common at European street markets, fairs, and festivities throughout the 19th century.

The Dancing Bear was bigger and softer than its successor, the gummy bear we all know and love, because Riegel used gum arabic instead of gelatin that is commonly used today. It quickly became popular because the candy was very affordable; even when Germany’s economy was wrecked by hyperinflation, Riegel sold his Dancing Bears for a pfennig per pair. In 1967, HARIBO started calling its gummy bears Goldbears to distinguish them from gummy bears produced by other manufacturers.

Gummy bears typically consist of sugar, glucose syrup, a gelatin mixture that gives them their signature rubbery consistency, flavoring, food coloring, citric acid, and starch. However, recipes may vary to make the candy suitable for vegetarians or those following kashrut and halal dietary laws. For example, halal gummy bears are made with bovine gelatin rather than porcine gelatin, and vegetarian/vegan gummy bears are made with pectin instead of gelatin.

HARIBO Goldbears come in five main flavors: apple (green), lemon (yellow), orange (orange), raspberry (red), and strawberry (pink). In addition, HARIBO occasionally releases limited edition Goldbears. For example, pineapple (clear) and blue raspberry (blue) gummy bears were sold throughout 2022 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of everyone’s favorite gummy candy.

HARIBO of America established National Gummi Bear Day in partnership with National Day Calendar in 2022 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its iconic gummy bears. A fun holiday for children and adults alike, it is a perfect excuse to indulge in your favorite candy without feeling even a little bit of guilt!

You can celebrate National Gummi Bear Day by sharing a bag of gummy bears with someone you love, using gummy bears as a cupcake decoration or ice cream topping, throwing a gummy bear-themed party, binge-watching Adventures of the Gummi Bears, listening to “I'm a Gummy Bear (The Gummy Bear Song)” on repeat (although we should warn you that the song is quite the earworm that might get stuck in your head for days), and posting about the holiday on social media with the hashtags #NationalGummiBearDay and #GummiBearDay to spread the word.