BERLIN (-- Hans Riegel, who made German candy maker Haribo and its signature gummi bears a chewy hit for children -- and adults -- across the globe, died on Tuesday. He was 90.

Haribo said in a statement that Riegel died of heart failure in Bonn, where the company is based. He had been recovering from an operation to remove a benign brain tumor.

Riegel was the son of the company founder, also named Hans Riegel, who in 1920 set up Haribo -- an acronym for "Hans Riegel Bonn." In 1922, his father invented the "dancing bear," a small bear made out of fruit gum that laid the foundations for Haribo's later success with the "gold bear."

Hans Riegel, Haribo gummi  bear king
2009: Hans Riegel, the longtime boss of German candy maker Haribo. (Rolf Vennenbernd, DPA)


Paul Riegel, who died in 2009, focused on production while Hans Riegel took charge of marketing and sales -- for instance, promoting the company's wares with the slogan "kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy world of Haribo."







