Frank Taglienti, 73; Salesman Introduced Gummi Bears in U.S.

Frank J. Taglienti, 73, a candy salesman who introduced Americans to the gummi bear, died June 4 of lung cancer in a Baltimore hospital.

Gummi bears were created in 1922 by a German candy maker. By the start of World War II, the candy maker’s company, Haribo, was cranking out 22,000 pounds of gummi bears a day.

With a texture described as a cross between month-old Jello-O and rubber bands, gummi bears are staples at discount stores and supermarkets across the country.

But the candy was little known before Taglienti started selling it out of Haribo’s Baltimore office in 1983.

By late 1985, People magazine reported that Americans were chewing more than 465,000 gummi bears a week.

Born in Newark, N.J., Taglienti, graduated from Seton Hall University with a degree in business administration and began his career at Nestle Foods. Before joining Haribo, he peddled some of the most recognizable names in American candy, including Nestle’s Crunch, Bit-O-Honey, Raisinets and Goobers.

After two years as Haribo’s chief salesman, he was appointed the firm’s U.S. president, a post he kept until his retirement in 1997.