Chupa Chups is the brand name of a confectionary company. The name comes from a Spanish word, chupar, which means to suck - the sweet that started the company was a lollipop.
It was originally a Spanish company, founded in 1958 by Spanish businessman Enric Bernatt. Bernatt began as a jam-maker working in another factory. He wanted to start making lollipops, but his bosses and the company's investors weren't interested. So in 1958 Bernatt bought the company, changed the name to Chupa Chups and started producing lollipops - which at the beginning were just sweets on sticks. They cost 1 peseta each at that time.
Chupa Chups was an immediate success. At first it was confined to Spain, as the Franco dictatorship restricted the international opportunities for businesses, but from the 1970s onwards it was an international company.
Since 2006 the owner has been an Italian company, but the brand is the same and sales continue to be high.