I’m going to give you a plan for success.

Step one. Form a company and name it by combining the first two letters of your first name, the first two letters of your last name, and the first two letters of the city where you live.

Step two. Gather the following: a sack of sugar, a copper pot, a marble slab, a stool, a stonewalled stove, and a roller.

Step three. Use the above to make soft candies.

Step four. Have your spouse ride a bicycle to deliver the candies to stores.

Step five. Continue this process until you can afford a car to deliver your goods.

Step six. Repeat steps two through five until you are a billion-dollar corporation.

Oops. Sorry. I left out a couple of steps. You need to travel back in time to 1920, live in Bonn, Germany, and change your name to Hans Riegel.

Combine the first two letters as described above and you have a familiar brand name: Haribo. The first employee in this tiny, improbable company was Gertrud Riegel, Hans’ wife.

In 1922, the couple created candies in the shape of little bears that they called Gummibärchen, or gummy bears. These candies were larger and softer than present-day gummy bears, and were called Tanzbar (Dancing Bear).

In 1925, Dancing Bear was joined by a cousin, Black Bear, a licorice version.

By 1933, Hans and Gertrud’s company had 400 employees, and their products were sold throughout Germany.

During World War II, a shortage of raw materials and workers shrank the company to almost nothing. when Hans Riegel died in 1945, his wife struggled to keep things going. The company was down to 30 employees, and the future did not look bright.

In 1946, Hans and Gertrud’s sons took over management of the company, relieving their mother. One brother marketed the candies, while the other took responsibility for production. Their efforts were successful, and by 1950 the company had grown from 30 employees to almost 1,000.

In 1960, Haribo introduced a new candy, Goldbear, which became their top seller.

Two years later, they began advertising on television. Their long-time slogan, Haribo macht Kinder froh (Haribo makes children happy), was expanded, adding the phrase, und Erwachsene ebenso (and adults, too.)

In 1978, the shape of Haribo bears was changed. Their feet were shortened, and they were given a less realistic, more stylized appearance.

I first ate gummy bears in Germany in the mid-1980s. To improve my language skills, I’d go to the movies and watch American films dubbed in German. The concession stand in the lobby sold Haribo candies, and I remember thinking, “I wish we had these back in the States.”

Today, of course, we do.

So there is my plan for success. Change your name to Hans Riegel, go back in time to 1920, and invent gummy bears. Have a wife willing to bicycle the product to shops, and children able to carry on the business after you’re gone. Simple.

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