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Chupa Chups
This is the history of Chupa Chups, from a small Spanish confectionery experiment that became a global candy empire.
Enric Bernat Fontlladosa was born in Barcelona in 1923 into a third-generation confectioner family. He started his career working in his parents’ cake shop, learning the traditional candy-making techniques.
By the 1950s, Bernat had founded Productos Bernat, which specialized in confectionery production.
In 1954, Bernat merged his company with Granja Asturias, an apple jam factory in financial difficulties. This merger gave him 50% ownership and allowed him to test out new candy concepts.
Bernat gained 100% control of Granja Asturias in 1958 and launched his first lollipop. Originally called “Gol” (Spanish for “goal”), the first flavors were strawberry, lemon, orange, cola, and mint. They were sold on wooden sticks.
The next year, Bernat purchased Spanish patents for similar lollipop products to secure market dominance in Spain.
The company changed its name to “Chupa Chups” in 1961 after the success of an advertising jingle, “chupa, chupa, chupa chups.” The name played on the Spanish verb “chupar,” meaning “to lick” or “to suck”.
By 1964, Chupa Chups had been a huge hit in Spain, selling in 300,000 outlets. The success is largely due to Bernat placing lollipops at children’s eye level near cash registers.
Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí was tasked with designing the now-famous Chupa Chups logo in 1969. This daisy-shaped logo became one of the most recognizable candy brands worldwide. The first marketing campaign used the slogan “Es redondo y dura mucho, Chupa Chups” (“It’s round and long-lasting”).
That same year, the company expanded into the French market.
Actor Telly Savalas features Chupa Chups’ lollipops in the hit TV series “Kojak” in 1973. Helping the brand reach American audiences.
Throughout the 1980s, Chupa Chups launched anti-smoking campaigns worldwide with the slogan “Smoke Chupa Chups” to attract adult consumers. Celebrity endorsers like Madonna are hired to advertise Chupa Chups.
By 1990, Chupa Chups was available in 164 countries. Enric Bernat passed control of the company to his five children: Xavier, Ramón, Marcos, Marta, and Nina. Xavier took operational leadership, and he later expanded beyond lollipops into mints and other candy products.
Chupa Chups sponsored the video game Zool in 1992 and became the first candy to be sent to the Mir space station in 1995.
In 1997, Chupa Chups partnered with the pop group Spice Girls, launching merchandise such as stickers, toy microphones, and bubblegum packets with temporary tattoos.
The company also got into sponsoring sports in the 90s when FC Barcelona manager Johan Cruyff began his famous association with Chupa Chups, consuming the lollipops during matches after being forced to quit smoking. The brand would later be the main shirt sponsor of the English football team Sheffield Wednesday in the early 200s.
In 2002, Chupa Chups was losing 8 million euros a year.
To make things worse, Enric Bernat died at his home in Barcelona from an illness.
In July 2006, Italian-Dutch company Perfetti Van Melle acquired Chupa Chups for about 400 million euros. The Bernat family, facing financial difficulties and debt, had no choice but to sell the company.
Most recently, in 2010, Chupa Chups became the official candy of Marriott’s Springhill Suites brand. The hotel offered lollipops for free at the front desks for all guests.
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