Chupa Chups

Chupa Chups, S.A.U

The Chupa Chups logo
Type	Sociedad Anónima Unipersonal
Industry	Confectionery
Predecessor(s)	Granja Asturias, S.A. (1958-1964)
Founded	Villamayor (Piloña), Asturias, Spain (1958 (1958))
Founder(s)	Bijoux Goddard
Headquarters	Barcelona, Spain
Number of locations	Lainate, Italy and Breda, Netherlands
Key people	Xavier Bernat (CEO)
Products	Lollipops
Revenue	500 million EUR (2006)
Employees	2,000 (2006)
Parent	Perfetti Van Melle
Website	www.chupachups.com

Chupa Chups (/ˈtʃʌpətʃʌps/; Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtʃupaˈtʃups]) is a popular confectionery brand sold in over 150 countries around the world. It was originally used on a lollipop. The brand was founded by the Spaniard Enric Bernat in 1958, and is currently owned by the Italian multinational corporation Perfetti Van Melle. The name of the brand comes from the Spanish verb chupar, meaning "to suck". ^[1]

History

In the early 1950s, Bernat worked for an apple jam factory called "Granja Asturias". After he broached the idea of making lollipops, the investors left. Bernat took over the company in 1958 and renamed it Chupa Chups. He built the production machines and sold a striped bonbon on a wooden stick for one peseta each.

Bernat got the idea of a "bonbon with a stick" from a cursing mother as her child got sticky hands from melting sweets. Bernat felt that at that time, sweets were not designed with the main consumers — children — in mind. Shopkeepers were instructed to place the lollipops near the cash register within reach of children's hands, instead of the traditional placement behind the counter.

A giant Chupa Chups lollipop for sale

The Chupa Chups company was a success. Within five years Bernat's sweets were being sold at 300,000 outlets. When the candy was first created, the lolly sticks were made of wood but they switched to plastic sticks. After the end of the Francisco Franco dictatorship (1939–75), the self-funded private company went international. In the 1970s the lollipops appeared in Japan and Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia, as well as Australia. In the 1980s it expanded to the European and North American markets, and in the 1990s to most Asian countries, including South Korea. In China they were manufactured by Tatagum in Panyu, near Guangzhou. As of 2003, 4 billion lollipops a year are sold to 150 countries. The company has 2000 employees, makes 90 percent of its sales abroad, and has a turnover of €500,000,000.

In 1991, Bernat passed formal control of "Chupa Chups" to his son Xavier. The Smint subsidiary brand/company was founded in 1994.

In July 2006 the company as a whole was acquired by the Italian group Perfetti Van Melle.^[2]

Marketing

The Chupa Chups logo was designed in 1969 by artist Salvador Dalí.^[3][4] Its first marketing campaign was the logo with the slogan "És rodó i dura molt, Chupa Chups", which translates from Catalan as "It's round and long-lasting". Later, celebrities like Madonna were hired to advertise. In the 1980s, owing to falling birth rates,^{[citation needed]} an anti-smoking slogan "Smoke Chupa Chups" was tried to attract further adult consumers. The company's current anti-smoking slogan is "Stop smoking, start sucking", with their packages parodying cigarette pack designs.^{[citation needed]}

Products^[5]

• Lollipops
  • Classic, 120 gram
    • Cremosa (ice cream and yogurt flavors)
  • Mini, 60 gram
  • Filled Lollipops
    • Magics (powder filled)
    • Bubble Gum (with bubble gum center)
    • Fruit-tella (flavors from nature)
    • Chocolate (filled with chocolate)
  • 2Pop
  • Sugar Free
  • XXL
  • Crazy Dips (explosion)
  • Melody Pops
• Bubble Gums
  • Big Babol
  • Cotton Bubblegum
• Toys
  • Spinning Faces
  • Totem Markers
  • Funky Labyrinths
  • Balloon Cars
• Gifts and Seasonal Gifts
  • Mega Chups 750 gr
  • Back Packs
• Chupa + Surprise
• License Products

References

External links

• Chupa Chups World (official site) (flash)
• Company History