According to the 118-year-old Barcelona-based candy manufacturer, Chupa Chups is celebrating its 60th anniversary and its 20th anniversary in brand licensing.
“Twenty years ago, we were pioneers to license a food and beverage brand in the European market,” said Ballesteros. “This has proven to be a profitable and sustainable business model.”
However, Cool warned, “Do treat it as an activity in its own right, it’s not something you can do on the side.”
Cool explained the lollipop brand started its brand licensing adventure focused on lifestyle, as its brightly coloured, iconic logo was designed by Salvador Dali in 1968.
“Chupa Chups is very much an art driven brand,” she said.
The brand’s focus will now be on working with food and beverage programs, having recently had a few successful forays into that sector.
To-date, the company has collaborated with Unilever (ice cream), Vandermoortle (donuts) Griesson De Beukelaer (biscuits) and Jel Sert (frozen novelties) all featuring the lollipop flavors.
“We feel that we are now prepared to enter into the food category in a big way, so we will be approaching new candidates, such as ice cream, bakery products and beverages, not only in Europe but also expanding into Asian markets and the US,” said Ballesteros.
Cool added the company is quite selective about it partners.
“We are quite demanding about our candy products, so we expect excellence from our partners. They should be leading companies with the capacity to innovate and a good track record.”