Candy companies want to know: What will make Americans [1]start chewing
gum again?
Gum’s bubble burst during the COVID-19 pandemic, when [2]masks and
social distancing made bad breath less of a worry and fewer people
spent on [3]impulse buys. The number of packages of gum sold dropped by
nearly a third in the United States in 2020, according to Circana, a
market research firm.
Consumer demand has picked up only slightly since then. Last year, U.S.
chewing gum sales rose less than 1% to 1.2 billion units, which was
still 32% fewer than in 2018. Although sales in dollars are back to
pre-pandemic levels, that’s mostly [4]due to inflation; the average
pack of gum cost $2.71 last year, $1.01 more than it did in 2018,
Circana said.
It’s a similar story globally. Worldwide gum sales rose 5% last year to
more than $16 billion, according to market researcher Euromonitor. That
still was 10% below the 2018 sales figure.
Some manufacturers are responding to the bland demand by leaving the
market altogether. In 2022, Mondelez International sold its U.S.,
Canadian and European gum business, including brands like Trident,
Bubblicious, Dentyne and Chiclets, to Amsterdam-based Perfetti Van
Melle.
Chicago-based Mondelez, which makes Oreos and Cadbury chocolates, said
it wanted to shift resources to brands with higher growth
opportunities.
Other American confectioners are cutting slow-selling brands. Ferrera
Candy Co., which is headquartered in Forest Park, Illinois, quietly
ended production of [5]Fruit Stripe and Super Bubble gums in 2022 after
more than 50 years.
Chewing gum is fighting more than [6]a virus, however, when its comes
to regaining its flavor. Lynn Dornblaser, the director of innovation
and insight at market research firm Mintel, said a growing number of
consumers are trying [7]to limit sugar in their diets and to eat foods
with more natural ingredients. That limits the appeal of gum, since
even sugar-free varieties often contain artificial sweeteners.
U.S. consumers, like those in Europe and Asia, also may be increasingly
concerned about the stubborn litter from used gum, Dornblaser said.
Singapore famously banned the sale, import and manufacturing of chewing
gum in 1992, blaming the careless disposal of the substance on subways
for gumming up service. More recently, the U.K. government persuaded
gum manufacturers to pay for a street-cleaning program to help remove
gum and gum stains.
Dan Sadler, a principal for client insights at Circana, has noticed
generational differences in gum chewing.
Generation X, the cohort born between 1965 and 1980, tends to chew gum
more than other age groups, he said. Millennials generally show less
interest in gum and candy, while Generation Z consumers are more
interested in novelty candies like sour gummies. Nielsen says U.S. unit
sales of gummies rose 2.5% over the last year and 4% the year before.
Mars Inc., which owns the 133-year-old Wrigley brand, thinks it may
have an answer: repositioning gum as an instant stress reliever rather
than an occasional breath freshener. In January, the company launched a
global ad campaign promoting its top-selling Orbit, Extra, Freedent and
Yida brands as tools for mental well-being.
Alyona Fedorchenko, vice president for global gum and mints in Mars’
snacking division, said the idea stuck in the summer of 2020, when the
company was frantically researching ways to revive sales.
Fedorchenko remembered talking to a nurse in a hospital COVID-19 ward
who chewed gum to calm herself even though she always wore a mask. The
nurse’s habit meshed with studies by Mars that showed half of chewers
reached for gum to relieve stress or boost concentration.
“That, for us, was the big ‘Aha!’” Fedorchenko said. “We’ve had a
century of legacy of fresh breath, and that is still very important.
Don’t get me wrong. But there is so much more this category can be.”
Emphasizing wellness is part of a multi-year effort to attract 10
million new U.S. chewers by 2030, she said. Mars also is introducing
new products like Respawn by 5 gum, which is aimed at gamers. The gum
contains green tea and vitamin B, and the company promotes those
ingredients as a way to help improve focus. Sold in three flavors,
Respawn by 5 could lure customers from smaller brands like Rev Energy
Gum, which contains caffeine.
Megan Schwichtenberg, a public relations account director from
Minneapolis, buys into the idea of gum as a quick respite. She often
chews a piece of fruit-flavored Mentos gum when she’s driving or at the
gym, and finds that chewing gum stops her from clenching her jaw during
the workday.
“If I’m sitting at a desk all day managing a team, I can’t get up and
go punch a punching bag,” Schwichtenberg said. “It’s a way to contain
some of that in the space you’re in.”
But not everyone finds gum enhances well-being. Kylie Faildo, a pelvic
floor physical therapist in Denver, thinks artificial sweeteners and
swallowing air while chewing made her bloating symptoms worse. She gave
up gum two years ago and doesn’t plan to go back, even though she
misses the ease of popping a piece into her mouth before meeting a
client.
“I use mouthwash a lot more now,” Faildo said.
Caron Proschan, the founder and CEO of the natural gum brand Simply,
said she thinks U.S. gum sales slowed due to a shortage of innovation.
Young customers have little disposable income and many distractions,
she said, so gum needs to be compelling.
Simply – which makes gum from a type of tree sap called chicle instead
of synthetic ingredients – has seen its sales double every year since
2021 without raising prices, Proschan said.
“Consumers today care about ingredients. They care about quality. The
chewing gum category was not evolving to meet the needs of this
consumer,” she said.
Sadler and Dornblaser say they still see growth ahead for gum, but it
needs to adapt to customers’ changing tastes and buying habits,
including a shift from impulse sales to online shopping.
Some brands, like the U.K.’s Nuud Gum, are offering subscription plans,
for example. Other gum makers are experimenting with pop-up ads that
remind customers to add gum to their food delivery orders.
References
1.
https://apnews.com/article/britney-spears-lifestyle-business-food-and-drink-55add692f3b94f589a1a1f17b4ac0dc5
2.
https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-ppe-stockpiles-masks-50bf7739fc9d69f4b991a14daadecaba
3.
https://apnews.com/general-news-3006afd5b260489fa43e46d4cb2e437f
4.
https://apnews.com/hub/inflation
5.
https://apnews.com/article/fruit-stripe-gum-discontinued-624b16ee0066c638154464bf47c4ac9d
6.
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
7.
https://apnews.com/article/28e626562c88439b96056e843215aa8d
