The common chew that sticks all generations together South of Africa is the good old Chappies bubblegum. Did you know who created this iconic treat or why it was invented?
Interestingly enough, it was the brainchild of Arthur Ginsberg who needed a cheaper competitor to Wicks bubblegum which held the attention of the South African market in the late 1940s.
Ginsberg started working in the sweet industry as an accountant for Chapelat Sweets Factory in Johannesburg, according to research conducted by Lucille Davie at Heritage Portal.
GINSBERG: THE BRAIN BEHIND CHAPPIES BUBBLEGUM
In the evening, he would study for his BComm degree at Wits University, and by the early 1950s he was promoted to the head of sales and marketing at the factory.
After OK Bazaar, Chapelat’s biggest client, dropped them as distributors they had to think out of the box, and quickly come up with a winning product to rebound.
At the time, Wicks bubblegum dominated the market, but Ginsberg had a brainwave, to create a product for half the price and twice as exciting.
After much experimentation, Chappies was born – a namesake of the company.
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THE LEGACY OF CHAPPIES BUBBLEGUM
But Ginsberg didn’t just stop there. He wanted to create a hype around Chappies and ensure the bubblegum sold quickly. So “Did you know?” facts were added inside the wax paper to feed minds and sweet tooths at the same time.
And thus began the legacy of the Chappies bubblegum which has now also branched out into merchandise and has become a product that is impossible to miss in its iconic red, blue and yellow striped branding.
In 1989 Cadbury bought the business and continues to produce Chappies.
Did you know?
- The original flavours lemon, orange, strawberry, cherry and pineapple.
- Flavours introduced later included spearmint, peppermint, herbal, silver fruit (a mix of the five flavours) and in more recent times spearmint, fruit, watermelon, cool cherry and grape.
- The first ‘Did you know’ questions were sourced from a quiz show on Springbok Radio.
- There is anything between 5 000 – 6 000 facts in circulation now.
- Sadly Ginsberg died on May 31, 2007.
Some myths you were sold as a child growing up:
- If you swallowed bubblegum instead of spitting it out, a tree would grow in your stomach.
- Bubblegum is made of pure animal fat.
- If you mistakenly swallowed bubblegum, your organs would stick together.
- Disclaimer, all of these are untrue and were peddled mostly by parents.
