Unwrapping heritage: The ‘Did You Know?’ legacy of Chappies bubblegum
Few things are as tied to our collective childhood memories as Chappies bubblegum.
Image: Gerry Cupido
As we celebrate Heritage Month, we look at brands that are truly woven into the fabric of our culture, and few things are as tied to our collective childhood memories as Chappies bubblegum.
When your parents sent you to the corner shop to buy bread and milk, you hoped that there would be some change to score a few blocks of the sweet, chewy treat.
On your way home, you would carefully remove the yellow wrapping because you didn't want to tear the wax paper, knowing that it held important bits of information.
Reading the “Did You Know” as you enjoy the burst of flavour and try to blow the biggest bubbles was the highlight of your stroll home.
Back then, you never knew what flavour you would get because all the flavours had the same iconic yellow wrapping with the red and blue stripes and the little chipmunk.
Chappies was a part of childhood.
Image: Freepik
My favourite was always the yellow one. I have no idea what flavour that was though, but I was always happy when I unwrapped mine to find the one I wanted.
Now they come in all sorts of flavours, such as mint and grape, with different coloured wrapping.
The gum became so iconic that now people refer to just about any bubble gum as “Chappies”.
They've been around as far as I can remember, but how much do we really know about them?
Well, here are a few "Did You Knows" about the brand we all grew up with, a true symbol of our shared South African heritage.
A bit of history
Chappies was created in the late 1940s by Arthur Ginsberg, a marketer at the Chapelat Sweet Factory in Johannesburg.
Ginsberg's goal was to compete with the popular Wicks bubblegum.
He developed Chappies with a unique selling point: it was sold at two pieces for a penny, while Wicks sold for one penny a piece.
The name "Chappies" is an abbreviation of the parent company's name, Chapelat. Chappies initially came in five flavours: lemon, orange, strawberry, cherry, and pineapple.
The current flavours include spearmint, assorted fruit, watermelon, grape, and cool cherry.
The iconic "Did You Know?" facts
The inclusion of "Did You Know?" facts inside the wrappers was a genius marketing idea by Ginsberg to make the gum more appealing to children.
The initial facts were sourced from the popular Springbok Radio quiz show "Test The Team," featuring "The Three Wise Men."
Later, Chappies approached academics from Ginsberg's alma mater, Wits University, to generate thousands of new facts.
In 2012, Chappies ran a national campaign inviting the public to submit their own facts. Over 50,000 submissions were received, and 170 new, vetted facts were selected to be printed on millions of wrappers.
The inclusion of "Did You Know?" facts inside the wrappers was a genius marketing idea by Ginsberg.
Image: Gerry Cupido
Cultural impact and legacy
The brand name "Chappies" became so popular that it is often used as a generic term for all bubblegum in South Africa.
By the late 1970s, Chappies held a staggering 90 per cent of the local market share and had expanded into neighbouring countries like Zambia, Congo, and Zimbabwe.
The brand's beloved chipmunk mascot was added to the wrapper to help consumers distinguish genuine Chappies from imitations.
The character has been refreshed over the years but remains a recognisable part of the brand.
Despite its long history, Chappies has stayed relevant through smart marketing campaigns, including collaborations with local artists and rappers, and by leveraging social media to engage with a new generation of consumers.