Sweet victory! HARIBO is crowned the UK’s favourite travel sweet

With staycation season fast approaching, the latest research conducted by Carwow asked drivers to vote for their favourite travel sweet and confectionery brands. HARIBO was the clear winner, with nearly one fifth of survey respondents naming this as their go-to sweet to inject the fun and moments of childlike happiness into lengthy car journeys.[1]

• HARIBO is officially crowned as the UK’s favourite sweet to inject the fun into long car journeys – most favoured by Gen Z and Millennials 
• With over 40 HARIBO product families, it’s clear there’s something for everyone, as the iconic brand comes out on top for both men and women
• The survey, conducted by Carwow, found Werther’s Originals are preferred by baby boomers and older generations

In second place came Werther’s Originals with 12% of Brits voting for this sweet, whereas one in ten of the respondents said Fruit Pastilles are their confection of choice.

The UK’s top 5 travel sweets:

1. HARIBO
2. Werther’s Originals
3. Fruit Pastilles
4. Wine Gums
5. Humbugs

When it comes to who’s choosing, HARIBO has stolen the hearts of Gen Z and Millennials, with over half (52%) of younger respondents voting for this iconic sweet. Older generations typically opted for butterscotch Werther’s Originals, with 44% of baby boomers voting for this sweet from the survey. 

Gender split showed that men and women’s sweet choices are united, with both selecting HARIBO as their favourite. Other top picks included Trebor Extra Strong Mints, Smarties, Percy Pigs, and Liquorice Allsorts.

Less sweet with consumers, the least preferred treats for road trips were Midget Gems (2%) and Fox’s Glacier Mints (3%). Other unpopular sweets were Mentos and Starburst, showing there is simply no beating HARIBO, as six bags are sold every second in the UK.

John Rawlings, Consumer Editor at Carwow said: “During lengthy road trips, it’s the small comforts that help to keep our energy levels up. The practicality of the packaging is a big consideration, as minimising messiness in the car is important on long journeys. So, it’s no wonder that HARIBO has been crowned the winner.

“Sweets also serve as a great way to beat travel sickness, and it’s easy to see why HARIBO would be the perfect remedy for this.”

Louise Fox, Head of Marketing for HARIBO UK and Ireland said: “Whenever you’re on the go, in the car, on a bus or a train, or maybe flying to an exotic destination, there’s nothing like grabbing a bag of HARIBO for a spontaneous moment of childlike happiness. 

Who wouldn’t love Goldbear to accompany them on a road trip? Along with rings, crocs, hearts, ice creams and jelly babies, HARIBO offers an incredible variety of different, high-quality textures and flavours, that are all gloriously mess-free. Perfect for keeping drivers and passengers alike happy. 

This year, we’re bringing an extra bit of tropical fun to the British road-trip – even if the weather says the opposite. Introducing our latest sweet, Tropi-Slices, packed full of exotic flavours, Watermelon, Pineapple and Blood Orange and boasting a satisfying bite, the new range is suitable for vegetarians and are made with no artificial flavours. There’s no need to leave the UK to taste the tropi – HARIBO will do the job, no matter the weather.” 

-ENDS-

Notes to editors – about the data

[1] This data is from a YouGov survey of 1,000 adults (18-65) living in the UK, completed 21st February 2024.

About Carwow 

Carwow exists to give everyone car-confidence. With 3.5 million monthly users, we are a leading online car marketplace that sits uniquely in between customers, automotive brands and car dealers. Because we don’t hold any stock, we don’t mind which car consumers buy or sell, we’re here to help them make the right choice for them. Since it was founded in 2013, carwow has:

• Launched its ‘Sell My Car’ service where consumers can easily list their cars at a great price while letting dealers buy used-car stock directly from the platform
• Raised $157m from some of the most prestigious technology, marketplace and automotive investors, including Balderton Capital, Accel, Vitruvian Partners, Episode and Samos
• Become one of the most influential names in consumer car media with the biggest automotive channel on YouTube with +8 million subscribers, fronted by Mat Watson
• Created an award-winning service that customers love, with a 4.7 rating on Trustpilot from over 40,000 reviews 
• Opened offices in the UK, Germany, Spain and Portugal with a combined team of 370 people

For more information visit www.carwow.co.uk.

 About HARIBO   

HARIBO is the UK’s leading sweets manufacturer and one of Yorkshire’s largest employers.   

We have a team of over 600 skilled sweet-makers across our two Yorkshire manufacturing facilities in Pontefract and Castleford. It is here, where we have been producing the iconic and much-loved treats for over 50 years – including our top selling products Tangfastics, Starmix, Supermix, and Giant Strawbs, as well as our traditional Pontefract Cakes. Across the UK, a further 90 retail colleagues run our ten HARIBO stores to provide consumers with our vast range of tasty sweets, as well as new and exclusive merchandise. Family-owned, HARIBO is over 100 years young and has been producing great value, quality treats for generations. HARIBO was founded by Hans Riegel Senior in Bonn, Germany – HA (Hans) RI (Riegel) BO (Bonn) in 1920 and today HARIBO produces worldwide 16 factories to offer treats in over 100 countries.   

 For more information about HARIBO UK, please visit: HARIBO UK: no. 1 in fruit gummies worldwide   

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