Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape - Sour Blue Raspberry

Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape: Background & Overview

Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape is made by the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, a subsidiary of Mars, Inc. The format is impossible to forget: six feet of bubble gum coiled inside a round plastic container about the size of a hockey puck. You flip it open, pull a length, tear it off, and go. The Sour Blue Raspberry version is the standard Bubble Tape experience with a big sour fruit punch layered on top.

You’ll find it at most grocery stores, gas stations, and candy shops in the US.

The Bubble Tape Story

Hubba Bubba goes back to 1979, when Wrigley introduced it as a softer, less sticky alternative to the bubble gums on the market. Less sticky mattered: the big selling point was that the bubble peeled off your face cleanly when it popped. The name came from WWII slang, “hubba hubba,” which soldiers used to express approval. Early ads starred a Wild West “Gumfighter” who signed off every spot with “Big bubbles, no troubles.” Very 1979.

Bubble Tape arrived nine years later, in 1988, and it was a different creature entirely. The hockey puck container was new. The six-foot quantity was new. But the masterstroke was the tagline: “Six feet of bubble gum, for you, not them.”

“Them” meant adults. Parents. Teachers. Anyone over twelve. It was an explicit us-versus-them pitch aimed straight at kids, and it worked completely. At peak popularity, Wrigley was manufacturing over a million containers per week. (Wikipedia)

The Sour Blue Raspberry flavor came later as part of a broader sour-and-fruit push across the lineup. The core product, the puck, the six feet, the satisfying rip of pulling off a strip, is unchanged from 1988.

Our Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape Sour Blue Raspberry Review

Two Bubble Bunch testers tried this one and the taste scores split between 3 and 5. The key is the sour opening. It comes in strong, and one tester put it well: the flavor fades quicker than expected because the start is so powerful that when it drops off, the drop feels bigger than it is. You get calibrated to a 9 and then land at a 5.

Both testers agreed on everything else. Texture: Too Hard. Bubbles: tennis ball sized. Neither verdict is a dealbreaker, but the firmness is notable.

The serving size is the main issue. One tester was direct: “The serving size is so small it is difficult to blow a proper bubble.” The default pull is thin. Tear off a double piece and you’re in much better shape. The gum can perform, it just needs enough volume to work with.

The sour hit up front is legitimately fun. Not so sharp it hurts, just a real tingle that makes the first minute feel like an event. If you like sour gum, that opening is worth it.

The nostalgia factor is real. If you grew up pulling strips from a puck in the back of a school bus, this still delivers. The Sour Blue Raspberry adds a fun twist to the classic format. Check our best bubble gum rankings to see where it lands overall.