From corner shops to cultural icon: The enduring legacy of Chappies bubblegum
Chappies was a part of childhood.
Image: Freepik
For many South Africans, some of the strongest memories of childhood are tied to the smallest everyday pleasures.
A quick walk to the corner shop, loose change in hand, and the hope that there would be just enough left over for a sweet reward.
Few treats stir up that kind of nostalgia quite like Chappies bubblegum, a brand that has quietly become part of our national identity over generations.
When your parents sent you to buy bread and milk, you secretly wished there would be change left to score a few blocks of the sweet, chewy treat.
On the walk home, you carefully peeled away the yellow wrapping, always making sure not to tear the wax paper because you knew it held something special inside.
Few things are as tied to our collective childhood memories as Chappies bubblegum.
Image: Gerry Cupido
Reading the “Did You Know” facts while enjoying the burst of flavour and trying to blow the biggest bubbles was the highlight of that walk home.
Back then, you never really knew which flavour you would get because every piece came wrapped in the same iconic yellow paper with red and blue stripes and the little chipmunk.
My favourite was always the yellow one. To this day, I still have no idea what flavour it actually was, but I was always thrilled when I unwrapped it and found the one I wanted.
Today, Chappies comes in a wide range of flavours like mint and grape, each with its own coloured wrapping.
The gum became so iconic over the years that many South Africans now refer to almost any bubblegum simply as “Chappies”.
It feels like they have always been around, but how much do we really know about this famous little block of gum?
Here are a few “Did You Knows” about the brand so many of us grew up with and still cherish today.
A bit of history
Chappies was created in the late 1940s by Arthur Ginsberg, a marketer at the Chapelat Sweet Factory in Johannesburg.
Ginsberg set out to compete with the popular Wicks bubblegum and came up with a clever selling point. Chappies 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. The gum initially launched in five flavours: lemon, orange, strawberry, cherry, and pineapple.
Today, Chappies flavours include spearmint, assorted fruit, watermelon, grape, and cool cherry.
The iconic “Did You Know?” facts
The inclusion of the famous “Did You Know?” facts inside each wrapper was a clever marketing move by Ginsberg to make the gum even more appealing to children.
The original facts were sourced from the popular Springbok Radio quiz show “Test The Team,” hosted by “The Three Wise Men.”
Later, Chappies turned to academics from Ginsberg’s alma mater, Wits University, to help generate thousands of new educational facts.
In 2012, the brand launched a national campaign inviting the public to submit their own facts. More than 50,000 submissions were received, and 170 new, carefully vetted facts were selected to be printed on millions of wrappers nationwide.
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 name “Chappies” became so widely recognised that it is now often used as a generic term for all bubblegum in South Africa.
By the late 1970s, the brand had captured an incredible 90 percent of the local bubblegum market and had expanded into neighbouring countries including Zambia, Congo, and Zimbabwe.
The beloved chipmunk mascot was added to the wrapper to help shoppers distinguish authentic Chappies from imitators. The character has been refreshed over the years but remains instantly recognisable.
Despite its long history, Chappies has continued to stay relevant through clever marketing, collaborations with local artists and rappers, and strong engagement on social media with younger consumers.
Decades later, that small yellow wrapper still carries more than just gum inside it. It holds memories, shared experiences, and a simple reminder of how a humble sweet became a lasting symbol of South African childhood.