People are only just realising they're pronouncing Haribo wrong - and are baffled

Beloved confectionery company Haribo is a staple for many - especially at this time of the year, with Halloween just around the corner.

will be out in force in just a few weeks, kitted out in spooky costumes while keen to stock up on the annual sugar rush. Haribo, famous for its iconic Goldbears, Tangfastics and Starmix combos, has launched creepy limited edition mini bags perfect for the occasion.

Its slogan, “kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy of Haribo” seems to offer the perfect reminder of how to pronounce the brand’s name - but apparently, we’re all getting it wrong.

The German company was founded in the early 1920s by Hans Riegel Sr in Kessenich, Bonn, in Germany. It got its name by taking the first abbreviated syllables from ‘Hans’, the source of the ‘ha’; Riegel, which provides the ‘ri’; and Bonn, which gives the ‘bo’.

In 1922, the company founded the iconic gummy bear - little gummy sweets shaped like tiny bears - which quickly proved popular and are now sold all over the world. Haribo named its own version Goldbears to stand out from competitors.

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Now, the company manufactures a medley of gummy-based sweets, including Giant Strawbs, Sour Sparks, Jelly Babies and more, as well as cola bottles, sour cherries, dummies, squishy crocodiles, fried eggs, heart throbs, ice creams and others which can all be found in its beloved mixed bags like Starmix, Tangfastics and Supermix.

This Halloween, many trick-or-treaters will be expecting to be handed a variety of confectionery from decadent chocolates to mouth-watering sweets. With that in mind, the team at expert writing site has rounded up some of the most well-known items you may expect to see this spooky season and revealed exactly how they should be pronounced.

With Haribo sweets among the crème de la crème of trick-or-treat options, it’s safe to assume we all know how to pronounce the company’s name. Apparently, this isn’t the case. It is often pronounced as ‘Hair-uh-bo’, ‘Har-bo,’ or ‘Harry-bow’ but according to , the correct way to say it is ‘HA-ree-bo’.

The pronunciation has divided many on social media, with most UK residents adamant ‘Harry-bow’ is the correct way, particularly as this is how it’s pronounced in advertisements on television. Many people have their own way of saying it, and outside of the UK, it can be pronounced entirely differently.

On X, previously known as , one person said: “Just heard someone pronounce Haribo ‘Hareebo’ and now I can’t unhear it”. Another shared an old video of Louis Tomlinson of fame and said: “I'm obsessed with the way Louis pronounces Haribo”.

A UK native replied: “That’s how we say it in the U.K! We might be wrong but that’s how the advert tells us to say it - ‘The happy world of Harry-Bow.’”

Another person commented: “I'm German and I love Haribo. But I always say “HarryBoo”,” while a fourth said: “That's how we say it in Denmark too (the German way) but all English speakers I've heard say it like Lou and Li”.

And another said: “That’s how most people say Haribo in England (at least where i’m from)! no one really says Hareebo”.

Sky News political editor and presenter Beth Rigby made waves when she pronounced the brand name as ‘Ha-ree-bow’, leaving many people debating whether she was right or wrong. One person said: “This is how I pronounce it too Beth!!!! Nothing to be ashamed about”.

Another said: “Strictly speaking, you’re not totally wrong: They’re named after Hans Riegel from Bonn (HaRiBo), so it’s a workable pronunciation of the portmanteau.”

And another quipped: “Or have we all been saying it wrong??” A fellow social media user added: “She should own her meecro-warvay moment. HAREEEEBOS FOR LIFE!”