Chum Gum (History, Marketing & Pictures)

Let’s take it back to some of the memories of candy from years past. Chum Gum is one that many of you might remember. Some of the memories about this gum say things like “it brings me back to the days when life was good” or “in my opinion Chum Gum was the best gum ever made”. 

Unfortunately, despite all these memories and many other people with reminiscent feelings just like these, Chum Gum is no longer on the market. But that doesn’t make their history any less important. 

History

Since Chum Gum was only around for a limited time, and that was mostly before the days of internet, it’s a bit challenging to find a lot of history for the brand. However, we know a lot about bubble gum as a whole. The rumors of old fans are that no other gum has been able to compare to this delightful option, although it’s not for lack of trying. 

It is described as having a very unique original bubblegum flavor with a smooth but powdery pink gum. That being said, it was made by the same company that created Dubble Bubble, Bazooka, and several other similar gums. You can still find many of those on the market now. 

Chum Gum came out as early as the 1950s from what we can tell and was available until sometime in the 90s. It was popular for the entirety of the gum because it was soft and easy to chew but also because it had good flavor. 

For the most part, these came in either 2 sticks or 5 sticks to a pack. They were in a white pack that blue writing with individual pieces. History says that Chum Gum was produced from 1950 to exactly 1971. Many people were still able to find the gum for up to 20 years after it had been discontinued. 

The reason it was discontinued was because Fleer turned their focus to Dubble Bubble instead. He focused all of his marketing and efforts to the new gum and it was impressive. That one is still on the market today. So many different types of gum came out in those years that it was challenging to compete against them. 

Eventually, Chum Gum sales dwindled enough that Fleer simply stopped production. He instead focused solely on Dubble Bubble, much to his success. 

Fleer Company

Knowing that the Fleer Company was responsible for Chum Gum, let’s dive in there just a tad. Frank Fleer was very young when he decided to start creating bubble gum. His company originally began in 1885 and unfortunately, it went bankrupt in 2005. 

Frank Fleer and member of his family owned the business clear until 1989, more than 100 years after they began. One of his first bubble gum creations was Blibber Blubber, which came out in 1906. It didn’t go over well and needed quite a lot of improvements so this one never actually was marketed. 

However, in 1928, they used that idea to create Dubble Bubble, which is where the true fame and sensation of Fleer’s bubble gum works began. That pink color set the stage and bubble gums continue to follow that grand design. Dubble Bubble is still available in some areas. 

Fleer eventually shifted his interests to trading cards and eventually sold Dubble Bubble, as well as several other brands. However, by that time, the company had already discontinued Chum Gum as it simply couldn’t keep up in a market where the advertisement was primarily focused elsewhere. 

In 2005, Fleer Company ended up declaring bankruptcy and they never bounced back as some companies do. The assets were liquidated for creditor repayment and even the Fleer name was auctioned off with several other holdings. It was a sad ending to a fruitful history for the company. 

The Fleer name is now owned by a company known as Upper Deck, who had previously made a huge offer to the company and had been declined. 

When Was Chum Gum Invented?

The history for the stories behind Chum Gum is limited but to our knowledge, the gum was first produced in 1950 by Fleer Company. The bubble gum was cheap with really great flavor that simply didn’t last. 

If that sounds really familiar to what you know about Dubble Bubble, it’s because they were extremely similar. In fact, you might be able to say that Dubble Bubble was a spinoff of Chum Gum. After all, it came from the same brand and had a lot of the same qualities as well. 

Who Owns Chum Gum?

Chum Gum was owned and produced by Fleer Company from 1950 to 1971. Unfortunately, they stopped producing it in 1971 so it hasn’t been available for a lot of years now. One thing we did find to be interesting was the fact that people were still finding Chum Gum for sale almost 20 years after it was officially discontinued. 

Fleer Company eventually turned their focus to toys and trading cards but their Dubble Bubble brand remained strong. You can still find Dubble Bubble on the market today but you don’t find Chum Gum. 

If you do find any, it’s certainly just memorabilia and probably not in any condition to be chewed now after having been discontinued 50 years ago. There are still wrappers that you can find online though, if the nostalgia is something that appeals to you. 

Logo

Pictures

More About Dubble Bubble

Dubble Bubble was created by Fleer, through an employee who was named Walter Diemer. Walter took a recipe that had been founded in 1906 and adjusted it to create this delicious gum. They made it into a round barrel shape and colored it pink. 

Much like Chum Gum, it was pink, powdery, and soft. It wasn’t sold in a stick like Chum Gum, though. The idea was to create a tasty gum that would blow really great bubbles. Since that time, they’ve also even created a host of other flavors to add, although the original will always be the top choice among fans. 

Unfortunately, from what we could find, it seems like Chum Gum fell out of the spotlight because so much focus was turned to Dubble Bubble by the company. They lost sight of a historical favorite and it eventually was no longer popular or desired on the market. 

Conclusion

While Chum Gum was a bright spot in candy history for only a short time, it’s one worth remembering. It very well could have set the stage for that soft, pink bubble gum we all know and love. 

While it’s no longer here, you can reminisce with Dubble Bubble and appreciate the time it was here and successful.