5 ms·

But why were they renamed from Dancing Bears to Goldbears? The name has always puzzled me, since I would expect it to refer to a yellow candy, when in fact yel

by comex 4y ago

But why were they renamed from Dancing Bears to Goldbears? The name has always puzzled me, since I would expect it to refer to a yellow candy, when in fact yellow is only one of the multiple different colors of gummi bears mixed in the package. I wonder if it used to be different; the article doesn’t say.

tmikaeld 4y ago
Maybe it was better received in Germany at the time? I'd be surprised if they didn't make studies and test groups
- eru 4y ago
  They renamed in 1960. Not sure whether studies and test groups were a thing in West Germany at the time?
  - tmikaeld 4y ago
    Hard to say how it looked in Germany specifically, but consumer research models where established at that time and inspired the focus groups we have today. I→C→A→B→S Where formed in the beginning of 1960s. Input (Advertising, word-of-mouth etc) Cognitions (Belief/perception of brand) Affect (Likeness/preference of the brand) Behavior (Purchase of the brand) Satisfaction (post-purchase evaluation)
    - eru 4y ago
      I did a bit of research and posted it at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31566775 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31566775
ajmurmann 4y ago
Dancing Bears/Tanzbären is a super sad and kinda offensive name. Just look up photos of some actual dancing bears and read how they used to be treated.
- whataboutery 4y ago
  That's probably the reason, and it's pretty funny reason when one of the main ingredients is bovine gelatin :)
  - hef19898 4y ago
    Which is a by-product of steaks and leather.
    - hammock 4y ago
      Do you think gelatin being a byproduct of other animal slaughter-based products makes it better than sourcing it by melting down hooves? (I’m not a vegan, just curious of the intent behind this comment)
- qgin 4y ago
  Never occurred to me that there were actual dancing bears. I was imagining some sort of fairy tale reference.
eru 4y ago
German Wikipedia suggests that they renamed purely for branding. (Perhaps the dancing bears were too generic and couldn't be trademarked?) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haribo https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haribo However this German newspaper says something about dancing bears being seen animal abuse, and thus bad marketing: https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/rhein-kreis/geliebt-und-gefuttert-gummibaeren_aid-17323371 https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/rhein-kreis/geliebt-und-gef... (Google Translate is your friend, if you don't read German.) https://www.spektrum.de/magazin/faszinierende-chemische-experimente-mit-gummibaerchen/1859830 https://www.spektrum.de/magazin/faszinierende-chemische-expe... suggests that they didn't just change the name, but also the recipe: > The gummy bears were invented in 1922 by the Bonn entrepreneur Hans Riegel, who christened his creation »Dancing Bear«. It was not until 1960 that the colorful fellows were renamed »Goldbears«. The dancing bears were significantly softer than their successors: Instead of the gelatine used today, a mixture of animal proteins, they consisted mainly of the plant sap gum arabic, which contains various polysaccharides (multiple sugars). Numerous companies now produce gummy bears and other fruit gums in many variations. (via Google Translate)

by comex 4y ago

tmikaeld 4y ago

Maybe it was better received in Germany at the time? I'd be surprised if they didn't make studies and test groups

eru 4y ago
They renamed in 1960. Not sure whether studies and test groups were a thing in West Germany at the time?
- tmikaeld 4y ago
  Hard to say how it looked in Germany specifically, but consumer research models where established at that time and inspired the focus groups we have today. I→C→A→B→S Where formed in the beginning of 1960s. Input (Advertising, word-of-mouth etc) Cognitions (Belief/perception of brand) Affect (Likeness/preference of the brand) Behavior (Purchase of the brand) Satisfaction (post-purchase evaluation)
  - eru 4y ago
    I did a bit of research and posted it at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31566775 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31566775

ajmurmann 4y ago

Dancing Bears/Tanzbären is a super sad and kinda offensive name. Just look up photos of some actual dancing bears and read how they used to be treated.

whataboutery 4y ago
That's probably the reason, and it's pretty funny reason when one of the main ingredients is bovine gelatin :)
- hef19898 4y ago
  Which is a by-product of steaks and leather.
  - hammock 4y ago
    Do you think gelatin being a byproduct of other animal slaughter-based products makes it better than sourcing it by melting down hooves? (I’m not a vegan, just curious of the intent behind this comment)
qgin 4y ago
Never occurred to me that there were actual dancing bears. I was imagining some sort of fairy tale reference.

eru 4y ago

German Wikipedia suggests that they renamed purely for branding. (Perhaps the dancing bears were too generic and couldn't be trademarked?) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haribo https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haribo However this German newspaper says something about dancing bears being seen animal abuse, and thus bad marketing: https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/rhein-kreis/geliebt-und-gefuttert-gummibaeren_aid-17323371 https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/rhein-kreis/geliebt-und-gef... (Google Translate is your friend, if you don't read German.) https://www.spektrum.de/magazin/faszinierende-chemische-experimente-mit-gummibaerchen/1859830 https://www.spektrum.de/magazin/faszinierende-chemische-expe... suggests that they didn't just change the name, but also the recipe: > The gummy bears were invented in 1922 by the Bonn entrepreneur Hans Riegel, who christened his creation »Dancing Bear«. It was not until 1960 that the colorful fellows were renamed »Goldbears«. The dancing bears were significantly softer than their successors: Instead of the gelatine used today, a mixture of animal proteins, they consisted mainly of the plant sap gum arabic, which contains various polysaccharides (multiple sugars). Numerous companies now produce gummy bears and other fruit gums in many variations. (via Google Translate)