Spanish Oddities
Birthday celebrations for the Spanish sweet on a stick
By m.p.
Feb 6, 2008 - 5:32 PM

It was back in 1958 that the Catalan confectioner, Enric Bernat, first launched his new idea onto the market, an invention which he thought up to stop children getting their hands dirty every time they took a sweet out of their mouths.

His Chupa Chups lollipops – the sweet on a stick - are now sold all over the world, and are probably Spain’s most famous brand. Named for the Spanish word ‘chupar,’ to suck, they are just as popular with adults as they are with children. The company has kept up with the times by introducing new flavours, and came to the rescue of would-be non-smokers with their mini chupa chups – six mini lollies in a cigarette-style box, in citrus flavours with plant extracts to help the smoker relax.

Chupa Chups was at the Goya Awards last Sunday to celebrate its 50th birthday by handing out free lollipops to the celebrities who attended the gala. There are two events next Monday, 20 minutos reports: the Chupa Chup-sponsored motorcyclist, Jorge Lorenzo, is in Barcelona, and the bullfighter, Óscar Higares, in Madrid, where one million Chupa Chups will be given out to the public.