Haribo is the brand most people name first when they think of German sweets, but the country's confectionery tradition runs a lot deeper than one gummy bear — into marzipan, festive baking, and chocolate brands most of the UK eats without realising where they come from.
The gummy bear started as a dancing bear
Hans Riegel founded Haribo in Bonn in 1920, and in 1922 created the Tanzbär, or "dancing bear," gummy — inspired by the trained dancing bears that toured European festivals and fairs at the time. It was smaller and softer than today's gummy bear, but it is the direct ancestor of every gummy bear made since, in Germany or anywhere else.
Marzipan and the city that claims it
Lübeck has built its identity around marzipan since at least the early 19th century, when the Niederegger company was founded there in 1806. A local legend holds that marzipan was invented during a siege, when bakers had nothing left but almonds and sugar to work with — a good story, though historians treat it as folklore rather than a documented origin. Marzipan remains central to German festive baking, especially at Christmas.
Chocolate brands you already know are German
Milka, with its lilac cow branding, was founded in 1901 and remains a recognisably German brand despite now sitting under Mondelez. Ritter Sport, founded in 1912, chose its distinctive square format specifically so a bar could be identified by feel in a coat pocket — a small design decision that became the brand's entire visual identity.
Christmas markets and Lebkuchen
Nuremberg's Lebkuchen — spiced gingerbread protected for centuries by local guild recipes — is inseparable from German Christmas markets, and the Advent calendar itself originated in 19th-century Germany before spreading everywhere else. Between the gummy bear, the marzipan and the Christmas baking, Germany has quietly shaped more of the world's sweet shelf than most people realise. Browse our Haribo range or wider chocolate collection to see some of it firsthand.
Frequently asked questions
Did Germany really invent the gummy bear?
Yes — Hans Riegel of Haribo created the original "dancing bear" gummy in Bonn in 1922.
Why is Lübeck famous for marzipan?
It has been Europe's marzipan capital since the early 1800s, home to Niederegger since 1806, with a (likely folkloric) siege legend attached.
Is German chocolate cake actually German?
No — it is named after an American, Samuel German, who developed the baking chocolate used in it.