Samantha Bartlett, Assistant Editor for Social News, visited the Haribo outlet at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth and found five products that stood out, including vegan-friendly sweets, large Maoam bags, and an early Advent Calendar.
Haribo's Global Presence and Local Outlet
Haribo has been making sweets for 105 years, starting in Bonn, Germany, where Hans Riegel Sr. began with a stove, a stool, a marble slab, a copper pot, a rolling pin, and a sack of sugar. The company was formally registered on 13 December 1920, and his wife Gertrud became its first employee in 1921.
Today, Haribo products are sold in nearly every supermarket, but only around 25 to 30 official company-operated retail and outlet shops exist globally. One of these is in Portsmouth at the Gunwharf Quays complex, which Bartlett regularly visits.
Five Notable Products at the Outlet
1. Haribo Pixels Zing, 140g (£1.40): These brick-shaped chewy sweets have a soft centre encased in fruit jelly, dusted with sugar or sour powder. Unlike many Haribo products, they are suitable for vegans and vegetarians, using starch and carrageenan instead of gelatin. They are also available in Tesco from mid-August 2026.
2. Mystery boxes, 2.6kg (£20): Each box contains at least £20 worth of sweets, with some 'lucky' boxes worth up to £50. They also include exclusive Haribo merchandise like water bottles or notebooks. Typical contents include a 1kg bag of a specific variety, international mixes, and standard UK share-bags.
3. MAOAM 2.2kg bags (£15.50): These large bags hold around 186 individually wrapped pieces, with flavours like Cola, Strawberry, Raspberry, Cherry, Orange, and Lemon. Maoam became part of Haribo in 1986 after the group acquired Edmund Münster GmbH & Co. KG, which launched the brand in 1931.
Plushies and Early Advent Calendar
4. Chamallows Mallows plushies: These are sold as novelty Haribo Plush Snack Bags, containing smaller removable mini-chamallow plushies. They are available online through digital marketplaces and gift retailers.
5. Haribo Advent Calendar (£7): Already available in August, the calendar includes 24 mini bags and wrapped sweets, including seasonal treats like Christmas-Minis and gingerbread-shaped gummies. The box features a glow-in-the-dark design and is typically stocked in supermarkets like Asda, Morrisons, and Iceland.
For those near Liverpool, the nearest Haribo store is the Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet in Ellesmere Port, about a 27-minute drive south of the city.
