Company

Since 2014, FLEER ESPAÑOLA SL has been the European subsidiary of the North American group TOOTSIE ROLL, a leading company in the world confectionery market, founded in 1896 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1935.

 

The Spanish subsidiary has two business divisions, CONFECTIONERY and PHARMACY, a unique diversity within the group, a consequence of the professional origins of the company’s founder in Spain, trained as a Doctor of Pharmacy.

 

The business philosophy has historically revolved around the axis of providing differentiated added value to the consumer. Both in the field of CONFECTIONERY and PHARMACY, we have worked to make this approach a reality in the different products that have been developed.

 

In the 1960s, as a result of the innovative activity of Doctor Luis Torrents in the back room of his pharmacy in Barcelona, the first pharmaceutical products were developed, glycerine suppositories to treat constipation and meclozine chewing gum to treat travel sickness.

 

Driven by his entrepreneurial spirit, in 1965 he reached an agreement with the American company FLEER CORPORATION of Philadelphia to create a joint venture under the name of FLEER ESPAÑOLA. A factory was established in Olesa de Bonesvalls, in the province of Barcelona, and combined business activity in both the pharmaceutical and consumer chewing gum markets.

 

To the chewing gum against motion sickness was assigned the brand name CHICLIDA and a significant advertising and promotional activity was carried out, both at the consumer and at the point of sale, which favoured the development of CHICLIDA, becoming the reference brand in its category.

 

It is worth mentioning that in 2001 FLEER ESPAÑOLA was granted the demanding GMP’S (Good Manufacturing Practices for the pharmaceutical industry) to produce chewing gum. Only a few laboratories in Europe have them, which places us at the forefront of the medicinal and functional chewing gum industry. This position has allowed us to develop a new business segment by manufacturing tablets for various functionalities. The range has also been complemented with parapharmacy chewing gum, of high quality and diverse functionalities, offering consumers a wide range of solutions to their needs.

 

The industrial and commercial activity of the CONFECTIONERY market was based on two brands, DUBBLE BUBBLE for bubble gum and CLIX for chewing gum. A great distribution effort was made in the national market, achieving a significant presence in the points of sale. With the entry into the TOOTSIE ROLL group, a business expansion process has been opened, which has an extraordinary medium/long-term projection. In 2020, two of the Group’s product brands, FLUFFY STUFF in the candyfloss category and TOOTSIE ROLL as a chewy candy, were added to the portfolio.

 

The company’s activity in both divisions comprise own-brand and third-party manufacturing.