Gummy bears are fruit gums in the shape of stylised bears about 1.5 centimetres tall. They are produced in different colours and essentially consist of sugar, glucose syrup, water and gelatine, which gives them their gummy consistency.

The gummy bear was invented in 1922 by the Bonn entrepreneur Hans Riegel. His company Haribo brought them to market for the first time and is still the market leader today.
The original gummy bears were made of gum arabic, which gave them a gummy consistency. Today, gelatine is used instead of gum arabic to make them.