Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. said it will launch a new line of sugar-free gum this summer as the chewing gum maker tries to recapture market share lost to rival Cadbury Schweppes PLC.
The gum – called “5” – will be the Chicago-based company’s first new gum launch since it debuted its popular sugar-free Orbit in 2001.
But unlike its other products, 5 is designed to give chewers a brief, but intense, oral sensation. Mint will cool or tingle; cinnamon will warm.
The stick gum will be sold in packaging designed to attract teens and young adults – about one-third of the nation’s gum chewers – with features such as etching that glows under black light. It will be available in North America in three flavours – Rain, Cobalt and Flare.
Stick gum, such as the company’s Extra brand, accounts for about 40 per cent of the gum market. But most manufacturers, including Wrigley, have shied away from new stick product launches in recent years, instead choosing tab or pellet gums.
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