Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

BONN

Gummy bear boss ‘Mr Haribo’ dies aged 90

Hans Riegel, the man known as “Mr Haribo” has died at the age of 90. The German-born businessman will be remembered as the man who brought brightly-coloured gummy bears into households across the world.

Published: 16 October 2013 08:35 CEST
Gummy bear boss 'Mr Haribo' dies aged 90
Photo: DPA

Hans Riegel, Haribo CEO and son of founder Johannes (Hans) Riegel Snr died of heart failure, a spokesman for the firm confirmed on Tuesday afternoon. It brings to an end his 67 years heading up the German confectionery giant.

Since taking the reins of the Bonn-based sweet company from his father in 1946 aged just 23, Hans worked together with his younger brother Paul to build Haribo into the internationally recognized name it is today, with the sweets now sold in 100 countries world-wide.

Aside from sick leave taken to undergo an operation last July to remove a benign brain tumour, the 90-year-old is said to have very rarely missed a day in the office, from where he ran the logistics and marketing sides of the business.

After his brother Paul died in 2009, nephews Hans-Guido Riegel and Hans-Arndt Riegel joined the childless Hans in running the company and will now take over the management of one of the world's top sweet makers.

Haribo, best known for its fruity gummy bear sweets, is an acronym for Hans Riegel Bonn, Ha – Ri – Bo. The company currently makes sweets in factories in 15 countries across Europe and employs 6,000 people with a turnover of €2 billion a year.

Despite his brand being recognized across the world, the late “Mr Haribo” rarely gave interviews or appeared in public. “I was never a person who sought the limelight”,” he said just weeks before his death.

DPA/AFP/The Local/jlb

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

FOOD AND DRINK

Danish chef wants to launch gourmet dining to stratosphere

Danish chef Rasmus Munk wants to take high-end cuisine to the edge of space, with plans to serve up a stratospheric dining experience in 2025, his restaurant said Thursday.

Published: 14 March 2024 16:38 CET
Danish chef wants to launch gourmet dining to stratosphere

“The expedition will take place aboard Space Perspective Spaceship Neptune, the world’s first carbon-neutral spaceship,” Alchemist, the Copenhagen restaurant that has earned Munk two Michelin stars, said in a statement.

“They will dine as they watch the sunrise over the Earth’s curvature” at an altitude of 100,000 feet (30,000 metres) above sea level, it said.

For $495,000 per ticket, six tourists will embark on a six-hour journey in a pressurised space capsule that will rise into the stratosphere in a hydrogen-filled “SpaceBalloon”.

The 32-year-old chef and self-confessed space enthusiast will be joining the trip.

READ ALSO: World-famous Copenhagen restaurant to close after 2024

Munk promises “dishes inspired by the role of space exploration during the last 60 years of human history, and the impact it has had on our society — both scientifically and philosophically”.

His menu will be restricted only by his inability to cook food over an open flame.

Many of the ingredients will be prepared on the ship from which the capsule is launched, according to Alchemist, which is ranked fifth among the world’s restaurants in 2023 according to the World’s Best 50 Restaurants guide.

In recent decades, Denmark has emerged as a gastronomical powerhouse on terra firma, with the Copenhagen restaurants Noma and Geranium both having held the title of the world’s best restaurant.

SHOW COMMENTS