SA's iconic Chappies bubblegum reaches 70-year milestone

Did you know? In the late 1940s, Arthur Ginsburg created Chappies bubblegum at the Chapelat Sweets factory in Troyeville, Johannesburg. And 70 years later, the iconic brand is still bringing consumers together with its fun flavours and quirky 'Did You Know?' facts.

21 Oct 2019

Image credit: The Heritage Portal

A lip-smacking cultural phenomenon

Ginsburg came up with the idea of including lists of ‘Did You Know?’ facts on the inside of each gum’s waxed paper wrapper. The questions were sourced from popular Springbok Radio quiz show The Three Wise Men – starring Eric Rosenthal, Arthur Bleksley and Dennis Glauber.

The company later approached academics from Wits University for more lists of questions, with between 5,000 and 6,000 ‘Did You Know?’ facts generated in those early years.

Chappies initially came in five flavours: lemon, orange, strawberry, cherry and pineapple, with the introduction of spearmint, peppermint, herbal, silver fruit (a mix of the five flavours) coming later. There are now five flavours to choose from: spearmint, assorted fruit, watermelon grape and cool cherry.

“Celebrating seven decades is an amazing milestone to reach and we couldn’t have done it without the generations of consumers who still feel an incredibly strong connection to the brand,” says Mondelēz South Africa category brand manager for gum, Trushann Thomas.

“The Chappies legacy continues to grow as those generations pass on their love for the bubblegum and the iconic ‘Did You Know?’ facts to the next – meaning that the brand remains as relevant as ever. We want to celebrate this significant milestone with everyone who’s been part of our journey for the past 70 years – and those who will pass on their love for Chappies to future generations.”