Haribo’s brand name has a secret meaning ― it stands for HAns RIegel BOnn, the founder of the company’s name.
The sweets brand is known for its jelly inventions, including its adorable axolotls and more classic Goldbear gummies.
But perhaps one of its most iconic (and divisive) creations is the Haribo Starmix Fried Egg.
While some had previously thought the white and yellow treat was supposed to be a UFO, Haribo’s site confirms our sunny-side-up instincts.
Reading its ingredients, though, I realised that the surprisingly sophisticated flavour profile of the gummy reads a lot more like a fancy cordial than it does the orange extract and vanilla mix I’d expected.
What flavours are in Haribo’s Fried Eggs?
The ingredients listed in an online entry for a Fried Egg-only Haribo bag includes items most of us would expect, including sugar, gelatine and citric acid.
Even some of the fruit and plant concentrates are as we’d imagine – lemon and orange make an appearance.
But I was surprised by the presence of elderberry, safflower, mango, and passion fruit in the flavourful fray.
Elderberries, which are deep purple berries that ripen between July and October, are often used for wines, syrups, and in baking (if you can get your hands on some this autumn, do).
Meanwhile safflower, which I’d never heard of before, is sometimes used in place of saffron.
Huh! Anything else?
Yes ― it turns out that new Haribo designs have to be hand-drawn.
It’s not quite Willy Wonka, but that means it’s someone’s job to pen the sketches that’ll become real sweets.
“This template is then used to create a 3D sample drawing for a high-tech milling machine, which produces a plaster prototype,” Haribo adds.
Once they’re happy with the shape, they use that prototype as the basis for “several hundred stamps” which help to form the sweets in production.