It all began in 1957 when Enric Bernat, founder and president of S.A. Chupa Chups, came up with the idea of "candy on a stick." a market study done at the time demonstrated that 67% of all candy consumers in Spain were under the age of 16. Nonetheless, there was not a single sweet on the market specifically designed for children, who had to settle for sugary gum drops that inevitably lead to to sticky hands and dirty clothes.
Bernat’s original idea was a piece of candy on a fork. After several experiments with small forks, Bernat saw the opportunity for production on a larger scale. Before the first Chupa Chups lollipop hit the market, however, the fork was substituted with a wooden stick as a safer and less expensive alternative.
Chupa Chups was thus born in a factory in Asturias (northern Spain) with an assortment of seven flavours. They were sold for 1 peseta each, a high price during the 1950s although necessary to transmit a high quality image. In 1967, a second factory was inaugurated in Sant Esteve de Sesrovires (Barcelona), followed by the establishment of the first international subsidiary in Perpignan, France.
The Chupa Chups logo: a work of art by Salvador Dalํ
Sales of Chupa Chups lollipops abroad prompted the need for a modernised wrapper design. For this important task, a visit was paid to Salvador Dalํ, who, in less than an hour created the famous daisy logo still in use today.
The new logo travelled the world over and made Chupa Chups a household name. It was also during this time that the wooden stick was replaced with a plastic one to avoid splintering.