History of Dubble Bubble

The world’s first bubble gum is Dubble Bubble. It was invented in 1928 by Walter E. Diemer—an accountant at Fleer Company.

After his retirement, Diemer admitted that the recipe was discovered by accident. The company founder, Frank Fleer in 1906, attempted to create a chewing gum which he called Blibber Blubber. The resulting product was very sticky and broke easily and was a commercial failure.

Mr. Diemer, an accountant who worked at Fleer liked to experiment in his spare time. In doing so, he stumbled upon a gum recipe that was unique. It proved to be less sticky than the initial versions and was easier to chew. This original gum was pink in color because the factory only had pink food coloring available. This is why most bubble gum is pink today.

The concoction looked promising so they wrapped one hundred pieces and test marketed it in a local candy store, offering the gum for one cent per piece; the gum sold-out on the first day. The company began marketing the gum as "Dubble Bubble" and sales surpassed $1.5 million in the first year.

The original gum featured a color comic strip, known as the Fleer Funnies, that was included with the gum. The featured characters, ‘Dub and Bub’, were introduced in 1930 but were later replaced by the iconic Pud and his pals in 1950.

During World War II, Dubble Bubble was distributed to the military. Sugar and latex became scarce due to the war and bubble gum manufacturing was halted in 1942. In 1951 Fleer resumed manufacturing of Dubble Bubble and the popularity of its gum grew steadily. Over time, Fleer extended its reach by adding new flavors, new formats like ball gum and expanded distribution of its products overseas.

In 1998, Concord Confections purchased Fleer and along with it the classic icon of American pop culture, the famous "Crown and Oval" Dubble Bubble logo. Overnight the "Dubble Bubble" brand becomes Concord’s prized brand and the new owner expands distribution of the gum to 60 countries worldwide.

And in August of 2004, Tootsie Roll acquired Concord Confections to expand its presence in the bubble gum category. Today, the company, through Tootsie continues to grow and expand its reach globally. Dubble Bubble gumballs continue to be a popular favorite among young and old alike.

Many people frequently misspell the trademark name as "Double" rather than "Dubble" when searching for gumballs online.