Chips Ahoy! turns 60: Fun facts about the American cookie brand and its history

Chips Ahoy! might be celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, but you may not know much about how the brand got its start – despite the cookie’s popularity.

Here are 10 little-known facts about Chips! Ahoy, its parent company and how the business is celebrating its milestone birthday.

1. When was Chips Ahoy! founded?

Chips Ahoy! was introduced in 1963 – 51 years after its sister brand Oreo, , according to the two cookie brands’ parent company Mondelēz International, which acquired Nabisco in 2000 for $18.9 billion.

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Both were both developed and produced by Nabisco (formerly the National Biscuit Company).

2. Is Chips-Ahoy! American made?

Nabisco was founded in 1898 in Chicago, Illinois by Adolphus Green, an attorney and businessman from Massachusetts, John G. Zeller, a bakery owner from Ohio and William H. Moore, an attorney and financier from New York, according to Encyclopedia.com.

The three businessmen each owned various bakeries and joined forces to form the National Biscuit Company, which merged the Pearson & Sons Bakery, the Josiah Bent Bakery and the American Biscuit and Manufacturing Company, among others, according to Encyclopedia.com.

While manufacturing largely remained in the Midwest, in 1975 Nabisco moved its headquarters to East Hanover Township, New Jersey, the same source reported.

Snack giant Mondelēz International’s website says Chips Ahoy! cookies are currently manufactured at its Chicago bakery, where Nutter Butter, Barnum Animal Crackers, Wheat Thins and Cheese Nips are also made.

3. What’s the meaning behind the name: Chips Ahoy!

The meaning behind the Chips Ahoy! name is reportedly uncertain, but there are theories about the cookie brand’s name.

Some food blogs claim Nabisco has said Chips Ahoy! is a reference to the nautical term, “ship ahoy,” which is a signal phrase that’s historically been used among sailors who spot another boat at sea, according to the Britannica Dictionary.

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In line with the ship ahoy phrase, fans of Chips Ahoy! say they think the name implies “chocolate is near,” according to various online discussion forums on the topic.

FOX Business reached out to Mondelez for comment.

While Chips Ahoy! is the cookie brand’s name, Nabisco reportedly wasn’t the first to use the term. 

Historians have found that English author Charles Dickens used the phrase “chips ahoy” in his 1859 book “The Uncommercial Traveller,” which told a story about a shipwright named Chips. 

Walt Disney also named a 1956 theatrical short “Chips Ahoy,” which featured Donald Duck and his chipmunk adversaries, Chip and Dale.

4. How did Chips Ahoy! make itself stand out?

Early on, Chips Ahoy! advertised itself as the first factory-made chocolate chip cookie that tastes as good as a homemade cookie, according to Insider, an online lifestyle publication.

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Advertisements from the 1960s repeatedly claim each Chips Ahoy! cookie contained 16 chocolate chips.

A vintage print ad from 1966 said a 40-pack of Chips Ahoy! cookies had “about 640 chips altogether.”

5. Are there really 1,000 chocolate chips in each bag?

Chips Ahoy! increased the number of chocolate chips it bakes into cookies substantially over time.

In the 1990s, the brand claimed every one-pound, two-ounce bag of Chips Ahoy! cookies contained 1,000 chocolate chips. 

A third-grade math class from Wadesboro, North Carolina, tried to contest the claim in 1997 after counting 340 to 680 chocolate chips in various Chips Ahoy! bags as part of a class assignment, but Nabisco sent a representative who found that the students only counted the chips they could see on the surface, according to a report from The Morning Call, a Pennsylvania newspaper.

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The representative reportedly dissolved an entire cookie bag and counted 1,181 chocolate 

6. Does Chips Ahoy! have a mascot? 

In TV commercials and print advertisements, Chips Ahoy! has promoted its cookies with an anthropomorphic cookie character.

The brand notably advertised its chunky cookie variety with a mock InTouch Weekly magazine cover, where their cookie mascot was called “Mr. Irresistible” and was presented as a tell-all source with “scrumptious secrets.”

The mock cover features a screengrab from Chips Ahoy’s “Don’t You Want Me, Baby” commercial, which debuted sometime in the early 2000s.

7. How many flavors are there now?

Mondelēz International’s website Snackworks US, which shares product information and recipes, reports that the company has 15 Chips Ahoy! flavors available, including its Original Chocolate Chip, Chewy Chocolate Chip, Chunky Chocolate Chip and Candy Blasts Cookies.

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Unique flavors the brand also has include red velvet, brownie-filled, s’mores, white fudge, confetti cake and a special candy-filled collaboration with Hershey’s Milk Chocolate and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

8. How big is Chips Ahoy!’s global reach? 

Chips Ahoy! cookies are available in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America, according to Mondelēz International’s website.

In some countries, Chips Ahoy! cookies are branded with a different names and package color. For example, Mondelēz’s division in Malaysia sells a Chips More! cookie brand that trades in the iconic blue logo for yellow.

9. How many Chips Ahoy! cookies are sold in a year?

Mondelēz International didn’t immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment on Chips Ahoy! sales.

The company’s “2022 Annual Report” says 50% of its $31.5 billion net revenue came from the sale of biscuits and baked snacks, and Chips Ahoy! contributed to that number with over $1 billion. 

Chips Ahoy! packages vary drastically in size and quantity, but most retail for less than $10.

10. How is Chips Ahoy! celebrating its anniversary?

This summer, Chips Ahoy! celebrated its 60th anniversary with a travel sweepstakes that granted two grand prize winners a trip to Miami, where a luxury yacht was decorated with Chips Ahoy! branding.

The two winners were allowed to bring “four of their best mates,” FOX Business learned during a site visit of the Chips Ahoy! yacht.

Mondelēz welcomed their winners in late June and has been selling its new Chips Ahoy! Chewy Confetti Cake Cookies since January.