If you’ve felt a quiet tug recently—the urge to browse property sites at midnight or fantasise about knocking down a wall to build that dreamy open-plan kitchen—you’re not alone. According to the latest Absa Homeowner Sentiment Index, South Africans are feeling more confident about property than they have in years. In fact, our national optimism now sits at a glowing 85%, up from 81% just two years ago.

Few things snap South Africans straight back to childhood like the crackly unwrap of a Chappies — and that tiny blue-and-yellow square of trivia gold waiting inside. But did you know the country’s most iconic bubblegum was born right here in Johannesburg?

If you wander down Dawe Street in Troyeville today, you’ll find a modest grey building that now houses a recording studio. But in the 1940s, it was the beating, sugary heart of the Chapelat Sweet Company — and the birthplace of Chappies.

DID YOU KNOW?
The name Chappies is simply short for Chapelat — the company where marketer Arthur Ginsberg worked when he dreamed up a way to outsell rival Wicks bubblegum. His simple idea? Two gums for a penny instead of one. A stroke of genius that would soon conquer corner cafés across the country.

By 1949, Chappies came in five flavours — but it was the now-famous “Did You Know?” facts that turned the sweet into a South African cultural icon. Those tiny trivia snippets were sourced directly from Springbok Radio’s popular quiz show Test the Team, meaning kids weren’t just chewing gum… they were learning something new with every unwrap.

DID YOU KNOW?
Chappies became so common as small change that store owners across Joburg shrugged and said: “No change? Take a Chappies instead!” For many children, bubblegum essentially became its own economy.

Listen to Al Prodgers’ report for HOT 1027 News below:

By the late 1970s, Chappies owned nearly 90% of South Africa’s bubblegum market, stretching into neighbouring countries and cementing the yellow wrapper as part of everyday life.

And even now — more than 70 years later — most South Africans still call any bubblegum a “Chappies”. Proof that some flavours, and some memories, never lose their chew.

References

• https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/food/2019-10-28-the-history-of-chappies-bubble-gum/

• https://www.2oceansvibe.com/2019/10/29/a-short-history-of-chappies/

• https://www.destinyman.com/2017/09/04/brand-sa-chappies-story/

• https://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/food-drink/food/a-brief-history-of-chappies-2090922