Enrique Bernat Fontlladonosa; 20 October 1923 – 27 December 2003) was a Spanish scientist and businessman, and the founder of the

Chupa Chups Chupa Chups () is a Spanish brand of confectionery found in over 150 countries. The brand was founded in 1958 by Enric Bernat, and is currently owned by the Italian- Dutch company Perfetti Van Melle. The name of the brand comes from the Spanish ...

lollipop A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker and sticky-pop. Lollipops are avail ...

company.

Life

Bernat was the child of a

confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewh ...

Catalan family in the third generation and started his working life in his parents' cake shop. In the early 1950s he went to north Spain to revive an apple

jam Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...

factory. As he introduced later his idea of lollipops to the investors, they left. Bernat took over the company in 1958 and renamed it

. In 1969

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

was paid a fortune to do the logo. In the 1980s, Bernat failed a take-over of the insurance company Iberia de Seguros to fund a new Catalan

investment bank Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...

. Despite the loss, he gained ownership of Gaudi's

Casa Batlló () is a building in the center of Barcelona, Spain. It was designed by Antoni Gaudí, and is considered one of his masterpieces. A remodel of a previously built house, it was redesigned in 1904 by Gaudí (but the actual construction works hadn't ...

. In 1991, he passed formal control of Chupa Chups to his son Xavier. The

Smint Smint is a brand of sugar-free breath mints owned by the Italian- Dutch company Perfetti Van Melle. Is known for their distinctive packaging that dispenses one mint at a time, and for their Reuleaux triangle shape. The name is a portmanteau of ...

subsidiary brand/company was founded in 1994. Together with his wife Núria Serra he had three sons and two daughters, all surviving him. Bernat died aged 80 at home in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

on 27 December 2003, from an illness. A hundred people attended his funeral in Les Corts. In 2006, Chupa Chups was sold to the Italian-Dutch company

Perfetti van Melle Perfetti Van Melle is an Italian– Dutch multinational company of confectionery Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although ex ...

by Bernat's sons.

External links

Chupa Chups website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernat, Enric 1923 births 2003 deaths Businesspeople from Catalonia Perfetti Van Melle people