Chupa Chups

Chupa Chups is a Spanish confectionery brand built around the lollipop format and recognized internationally for its round candy, colorful striped packaging, and flower-like logo. The business was founded by Enric Bernat in 1958 after he took control of the Asturias-based confectionery operation later associated with the brand. Bernat identified an opportunity to make candy easier and less messy for children by placing a boiled sweet on a stick. The early product used a wooden stick, later replaced by plastic, and the company protected its position in Spain by acquiring patents covering similar products. The name Chupa Chups derives from the Spanish verb “chupar,” meaning “to suck.” The brand initially used the name as part of a Spanish advertising line emphasizing that the candy was round and long-lasting. In 1961, the company adopted Chupa Chups as its corporate and commercial name, and in 1967 it opened a major factory at Sant Esteve Sesrovires near Barcelona. International expansion followed in stages. The lollipops entered Japan in 1977, reached the United States and several European markets during the 1980s, and expanded into China and Mexico during the 1990s. The products are now associated with distribution in more than 150 countries. A defining turning point came in 1969, when Salvador Dalí created the brand’s distinctive logo. The design placed a bold, daisy-like emblem around the wordmark and helped the product stand out on shelves while preserving a playful identity. Chupa Chups subsequently used entertainment, sports, hospitality, and youth-oriented partnerships to extend the brand beyond children’s confectionery. Examples include a prominent product appearance associated with the television character Kojak, a Spice Girls-themed range in the 1990s, sponsorship of the video game Zool, a period as shirt sponsor of Sheffield Wednesday, and a long-running association with SpringHill Suites hotels in the United States. The portfolio has expanded beyond a single basic lollipop into numerous flavors, sugar-free variants, bubble-gum products, filled and novelty formats, and other sweets. The flagship lollipop remains the central brand asset, with more than 100 flavors reported across worldwide markets, although availability varies by country. Packaging and product presentation have also been used to address changing consumer demographics. During a period of declining birth rates, the company experimented with adult-oriented and anti-smoking-themed communications, including cigarette-pack-inspired designs and the line “Stop smoking, start sucking.” Ownership changed in July 2006, when the Italian-Dutch confectionery group Perfetti Van Melle acquired Chupa Chups. The brand is therefore part of a larger privately held international confectionery portfolio rather than an independently listed company. Chupa Chups continues to operate as a global consumer brand, with its identity anchored in accessible, impulse-oriented sweets, distinctive visual design, broad flavor variety, and associations with popular culture.

Enric Bernat established the business that became Chupa Chups during the late 1950s. After working with the Asturias apple-jam operation known as Granja Asturias, Bernat gained full control of the company by 1958 and redirected it toward confectionery. His central product insight was to attach a traditional boiled sweet to a stick, allowing consumers—especially children—to eat it without holding the candy directly. The earliest sticks were wooden; later production adopted plastic. Bernat also purchased Spanish patents for comparable products in 1959, helping limit direct domestic competition. The company adopted the Chupa Chups name in 1961. It developed manufacturing capacity in Spain and opened a factory at Sant Esteve Sesrovires near Barcelona in 1967. The name came from the Spanish verb “chupar,” or “to suck,” and became closely linked to a product category that English speakers generally call lollipops or suckers. The brand’s visual identity was transformed in 1969 when Salvador Dalí designed its logo. The flower-like emblem, bright colors, and placement around the wordmark made the product immediately recognizable and gave a simple low-priced sweet a strong shelf presence. Internationalization began with Japan in 1977 and accelerated during the 1980s, when Chupa Chups expanded into the United States, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Russia. China and Mexico were added during the 1990s. The brand’s distribution eventually extended to more than 150 countries. During this period, the company used a range of marketing approaches, including television visibility, celebrity advertising, sports associations, music-related products, and licensing. A Chupa Chups product appearance was associated with the 1970s television series Kojak, while later initiatives included a Spice Girls confectionery range and sponsorship of the 1992 video game Zool. The company also pursued communications aimed at adults as demographic conditions changed. With falling birth rates reducing the number of children in some markets, it experimented with anti-smoking messages that presented the lollipop as an alternative oral habit. Some wrappers imitated cigarette packaging and used deliberately provocative statements. The product also became linked with football culture through Chupa Chups supplied to Johan Cruyff, who was seen consuming the sweets on the touchline after giving up smoking for health reasons. Following his death in 2016, supporters left lollipops at memorials, illustrating how the brand had acquired associations beyond ordinary retail confectionery. In 1991, Enric Bernat transferred formal control to his children Xavier, Ramón, Marcos, Marta, and Nina. The business later broadened its portfolio, including the creation of the Smint subsidiary brand in 1994. Chupa Chups became the first candy reported to have been sent to the Mir space station in 1995. From 2000 to 2003, it served as the principal shirt sponsor of English football club Sheffield Wednesday. In 2006, Perfetti Van Melle acquired the company. Under its current owner, Chupa Chups remains an active global brand with a broad selection of lollipops, sugar-free variants, bubble-gum products, filled sweets, and themed formats. Its core identity continues to rest on the original stick-mounted candy, the Dalí-associated logo, and a playful international image.

• 2006

  Perfetti Van Melle acquisition

  [1]Chupa Chupsen.wikipedia.org

  Perfetti Van Melle acquires Chupa Chups in July, making it part of the Italian-Dutch group’s international confectionery portfolio.

• 1995

  Candy sent to Mir space station

  [1]Chupa Chupsen.wikipedia.org

  Chupa Chups becomes the first candy reported to have been sent to the Mir space station.

• 1994

  Smint subsidiary brand is founded

  [1]Chupa Chupsen.wikipedia.org

  The business establishes the Smint subsidiary brand, broadening its confectionery activities beyond Chupa Chups lollipops.

• 1991

  Bernat family assumes formal control

  [1]Chupa Chupsen.wikipedia.org

  Enric Bernat passes formal control of the company to his children Xavier, Ramón, Marcos, Marta, and Nina.

• 1977

  Expansion into Japan

  [1]Chupa Chupsen.wikipedia.org

  Chupa Chups enters the Japanese market, beginning a major phase of international expansion.

• 1969

  Salvador Dalí designs the logo

  [1]Chupa Chupsen.wikipedia.org

  Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí creates the flower-shaped logo that becomes central to the brand’s visual identity.

• 1967

  Sant Esteve Sesrovires factory opens

  [1]Chupa Chupsen.wikipedia.org

  The company opens a manufacturing facility at Sant Esteve Sesrovires near Barcelona.

• 1961

  Company renamed Chupa Chups

  [1]Chupa Chupsen.wikipedia.org

  The Chupa Chups name becomes the company’s principal commercial identity.

• 1959

  Spanish patents for similar products acquired

  [1]Chupa Chupsen.wikipedia.org

  Bernat purchases Spanish patents covering comparable confectionery products as part of an effort to reduce domestic competition.

• 1958

  Enric Bernat establishes the lollipop business

  [1]Chupa Chupsen.wikipedia.org

  Enric Bernat takes control of the Asturias confectionery operation and develops the stick-mounted sweet that becomes the foundation of Chupa Chups.

Mass-market, playful and internationally accessible confectionery centered on impulse purchases, distinctive packaging, broad flavor choice, and nostalgic popular-culture appeal.

• Lollipop · 1958

  Chupa Chups lollipops

  The flagship product is a hard candy mounted on a stick, generally presented in a round form with colorful individually sealed wrappers. It is sold in a wide range of flavors and is the product most strongly associated with the Chupa Chups name and logo.

• Sugar-free confectionery

  Sugar-free lollipops

  Sugar-free variants extend the core lollipop proposition to consumers seeking reduced-sugar confectionery. Availability, flavors, and formulation vary by market, but the products retain the recognizable stick format and brand presentation.

• Bubble gum and novelty confectionery

  Bubble-gum and filled formats

  Chupa Chups has used the brand in bubble-gum products, filled sweets, and novelty formats. These products add texture, interactive use, or a secondary center to the basic hard-candy experience and are often supported by colorful or licensed packaging.

• Licensed and themed confectionery · 1997

  Spice Girls confectionery range

  The 1997 Spice Girls range connected Chupa Chups with contemporary pop culture through collectible stickers, toy microphones, temporary tattoos, and related formats including bubble-gum products, Push Pops, and Crazy Dips.

• 2025Suck Yeah

  Australia

  Chupa Chups launched the “Suck Yeah” advertising campaign in Australia, its first major campaign in that country in more than a decade.

  Outcome. Reintroduced a large-scale local brand campaign to the Australian market.

  Source
• 2007SpringHill Suites signature sweet

  United States

  Chupa Chups were offered free at the front desks of Marriott’s SpringHill Suites properties as a signature guest amenity for adults and children.

  Outcome. Created a hospitality-based sampling channel; SpringHill Suites began moving away from the association in 2021.

  Source
• 2000Sheffield Wednesday shirt sponsorship

  United Kingdom

  Chupa Chups became the principal shirt sponsor of English football club Sheffield Wednesday.

  Outcome. The arrangement continued through 2003 and increased the brand’s visibility in English football.

  Source
• 1997Spice Girls product partnership

  International

  The company launched a Spice Girls-themed lollipop range supported by collectible stickers, toy microphones, temporary tattoos, and related confectionery formats.

  Outcome. Used pop-star licensing and collectability to generate attention among younger consumers.

  Source
• 1992Zool sponsorship

  International

  Chupa Chups sponsored the video game Zool, with its branding appearing prominently in the game’s opening “Sweet World” level.

  Outcome. Connected the brand with youth entertainment and video-game culture.

  Source
• 1990Stop smoking, start sucking

  Europe · International

  Chupa Chups used cigarette-pack-inspired designs and the line “Stop smoking, start sucking” to frame its lollipops as an alternative oral habit.

  Outcome. Created a distinctive adult-targeted identity and extended the brand’s use of packaging parody.

  Source
• 1980Smoke Chupa Chups

  International

  The company experimented with an adult-oriented anti-smoking communication strategy as declining birth rates reduced the size of its juvenile consumer base.

  Outcome. Helped broaden the brand’s communications beyond children, although the initiative was primarily a positioning and advertising experiment.

  Source
• 1958Round and long-lasting launch message

  Spain

  The early campaign centered on the product’s round shape and durability, using the Spanish line “Es redondo y dura mucho, Chupa Chups” to explain and reinforce the new stick-mounted sweet.

  Outcome. Established the basic product promise and introduced the brand to the Spanish market.

  Source

• 2006

  Sale to Perfetti Van MelleM&A

  Background

  Chupa Chups was an established international confectionery brand with distribution across numerous markets.

  Action taken

  Perfetti Van Melle acquired the company in July 2006.

  Aftermath

  Chupa Chups became part of a privately held Italian-Dutch confectionery group and continued as an active global brand.

  Source

• 1991

  Transfer of control to the Bernat childrenStrategy

  Background

  After decades under its founder, the company entered a family succession phase.

  Action taken

  Enric Bernat passed formal control to Xavier, Ramón, Marcos, Marta, and Nina Bernat.

  Aftermath

  The business remained family controlled until its acquisition by Perfetti Van Melle in 2006.

  Source

• 1969

  Commissioning of the Salvador Dalí logoOther

  Background

  The growing confectionery business required a memorable and distinctive visual mark.

  Action taken

  Salvador Dalí designed the flower-like logo used around the Chupa Chups wordmark.

  Aftermath

  The logo became one of the brand’s most recognizable assets and a major point of differentiation at retail.

  Source

• 1961

  Adoption of the Chupa Chups nameStrategy

  Background

  The company needed a clear commercial identity for its stick-mounted confectionery business.

  Action taken

  It renamed the company Chupa Chups, using a name derived from the Spanish verb for sucking.

  Aftermath

  The name became the enduring international identity of the product and brand.

  Source

• 1958

  Launch of the stick-mounted confectioneryProduct launch

  Background

  Bernat sought to make candy easier and cleaner for children to consume by separating the sweet from direct hand contact.

  Action taken

  The company developed and sold a boiled sweet attached first to a wooden stick and later to a plastic stick.

  Aftermath

  The format became the foundation of the Chupa Chups brand and the broader lollipop category.

  Source

1. 1Chupa Chupsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Chupa Chups official websitechupachups.com