thesis statement and outline of wrigley's chewing gum

How Wrigley Chewed Its Way to Gum Greatness

William Wrigley, Jr. started off as a soap salesman and became a prodigy of consumerism. He sold Americans chewing gum with claims of health benefits.

Quick! Name a gum manufacturer. Chances are you chose Wrigley, a gum behemoth that’s been around since the 1890s. But how did the company go from baking powder purveyor to the world’s largest gum manufacturer? As Daniel Robinson explains, it had a little help from some made-up—and quintessentially American—ailments.

Robinson tracks the company’s marketing history as it grew into a gum powerhouse. Its strength, he argues, was in its position at the intersection between business and popular culture. William Wrigley, Jr., the company’s founder, was a soap salesman and a kind of child prodigy of consumerism. At just 13 years of age, he made a name for himself peddling soap for his father throughout New England, and eventually found himself in Chicago pitching rubber stamps, newspapers, and soap. This varied experience—especially in the rubber stamp industry—taught him about the power of advertising in a rapidly changing mass media marketplace.

Because he was a traveling “drummer,” writes Robinson, Wrigley adopted a role of itinerant mystery, on the fringes of acceptable society. That near-mythical presence prepared him well for his future in advertising.

And what a future. Wrigley originally turned to chewing gum as a way to bring attention to his premium baking powder, which began to surpass his own soap sales in the early 1890s. He’d include gum along with the baking powder as a kind of cheap, compact, compelling premium.

Wrigley may not have come to gum first, but he brought a salesman’s savvy to the product. He knew that in order to get gum to consumers, he’d have to hook dealers. Soon, gum itself was his main attraction alongside free perks like display cases or coffee grinders that sweetened the sale for retailers. “The focus on retailers, not consumers, reflected Wrigley’s experience as a drummer,” writes Robinson. But though his gum showed promise, its rise was nearly ruined by misfortunes like a burnt-down factory and huge losses in advertising, which was expensive.

That changed in 1907, when a financial panic suddenly made advertising rates drop. Wrigley moved in for the kill, expanding his ad reach exponentially. Soon, his spearmint gum was the bestselling gum in the world. He kept product moving with promises of two things we might not see as particularly gum-related—claims of physical and mental health.

Gum, Wrigley argued, could soothe not only nervous stomachs but stressed-out minds, making the product more patent medicine than candy. Despite popular perceptions that chewing gum was rude, Wrigley prevailed, convincing Americans that they were stressed and sick and providing them with a stick of respite. It worked—and if you carry gum in your purse or pocket today, there’s a chance you do so thanks to Wrigley’s tireless hawking.

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Janet Starr Hull PhD, CN

Alternative Health and Holistic Nutrition

How Wrigley’s® Makes Gum

July 29, 2019 By Janet Hull PhD, CN

Have you ever wondered how chewing gum is made ?

I think it’s interesting, especially when you realize how much it has changed over the decades; a stick of chewing gum has morphed into a purely corporate entity today.

Once upon a time, gum used to be healthy for your gums and teeth – when it was organic, that is .

Chewing exercises your gums and makes them stronger, which   in turn , supports healthy teeth.

Today, according to their corporate marketing , when the Wrigley Company makes a stick of chewing gum, it strives for these three main characteristics:

• a smooth, even chew
• a delicious, long-lasting flavor
• dependable, uniform quality

STEP ONE: QUALITY ASSURANCE

All ingredients and wrapping materials are inspected when they arrive at the factories. Before any shipment is accepted, samples are taken and tested in modern quality assurance laboratories.

STEP TWO: GRINDING

Manufacturing takes place in spotless air-conditioned rooms and is closely monitored to meet the company’s high standards of quality. The process begins with the grinding of base materials.

STEP THREE: FILTERING

Next, the base is melted and purified through high-speed centrifuges and filter machines.

Then, when still hot , the base goes to the mixers, each of which can hold up to one ton of ingredients.

STEP FOUR: MIXING

After the gum base is poured into the mixer, sweeteners and flavors are added at just the right moment and in just the right amounts .

The ingredients are then mixed slowly for the exact amount of time required by the formula. At this point, the gum looks like stiff bread dough.

STEP FIVE: ROLLING

Out from the mixers, the gum is sent through a series of rollers that form it into a thin, wide ribbon.

Each pair of rollers is set closer together than the previous pair, gradually reducing the thickness of the gum.

A light coating of finely powdered sugar or chemical sugar substitute is added to keep the gum from sticking and to enhance the flavor.

STEP SIX: SCORING

The continuous ribbon of gum is then scored in a pattern of single sticks.

STEP SEVEN: CONDITIONING

The gum is allowed to cool. The temperature and humidity are carefully controlled to make sure the finished gum will stay fresh on store shelves for an extended period of time.

STEP EIGHT: WRAPPING

The packaging materials are vital in protecting the freshness of Wrigley’s gum.

In one continuous process, the wrapping machine receives and wraps the sticks, applies the outer wrapper, and seals the ends of each package.

Most of the wrapping machines were designed and built by Wrigley engineers and machinists, and each is made up of approximately 6,000 moving parts.

STEP NINE: PACKING

The packages are automatically packed into boxes or clear plastic bags that move on conveyor belts for final inspection.

Boxes are wrapped with a clear covering and both boxes and bags are packed into shipping cases.

Wrigley’s gum is then shipped to hundreds of thousands of stores and other retail outlets all over the world.  

Thanks to the Wrigley Company for this detailed explanation. 

I think I’d rather chew an old-fashioned organic gum, though.  And definitely not one with sugar-free chemicals in the mix.

_____________

If you want to learn more about the diet sweeteners, Join my Private Inner Circle. I have written all about the sugar alcohols in my books on the diet sweeteners.

Gain access to all of my online programs, ongoing support, monthly Q&A, and more by joining my Private Inner Circle Membership Program . I look forward to supporting you on your journey to alternative health and wellness.

Disclaimer:  This article is for informational purposes only, and is educational in nature. The FDA may not have evaluated some of the statements.  This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please discuss with your own, qualified health care provider before adding supplements or making any changes to your dietary program.

Before taking vitamins, consult your doctor; pre-existing medical conditions or medications you are taking can affect how your body responds to multivitamins.

About Janet Hull PhD, CN

Janet Starr Hull, PhD, CN has been working with clients in the holistic health field since 1995. Using natural medicine to cure herself from a diagnosis of Graves’ disease caused by aspartame, Dr. Hull began researching the toxic causes of disease. Today, she is one of the world’s leading experts in environmental toxicology and holistic health and nutrition. Dr. Hull is the first researcher to publicly expose the dangers of aspartame. She has been writing her weekly email newsletter since 2002 covering a variety of holistic health and alternative medicine articles . Connect with Dr. Hull on Facebook , and Google Plus .

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, wrigley's eclipse gum: managing brand adolescence.

Publication date: 20 January 2017

Teaching notes

Wrigley launched Eclipse gum in August 1999. In early 2000, Paul Chibe became senior marketing manager for Wrigley's breath freshening portfolio, which included Eclipse. With the disappointing first-year performance of the brand, Chibe needed to take action to turn Eclipse around. His task was to use the opinions from other Wrigley executives and from marketing research data to decide if Eclipse could be turned around or if it should be abandoned.

Identify the most important variables that drive the success of consumer package goods brands

Interpret and use data from various types of marketing research to evaluate marketing mix strategies

Develop fact-based marketing recommendations

• Consumer marketing
• Distribution
• Market research
• Marketing communications

Lee, A.Y. , Merkley, G. and Bailey, B. (2017), "Wrigley's Eclipse Gum: Managing Brand Adolescence", . https://doi.org/10.1108/case.kellogg.2016.000418

Kellogg School of Management

Copyright © 2015, The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University

You do not currently have access to these teaching notes. Teaching notes are available for teaching faculty at subscribing institutions. Teaching notes accompany case studies with suggested learning objectives, classroom methods and potential assignment questions. They support dynamic classroom discussion to help develop student's analytical skills.

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Wrigley's SWOT Analysis

Wrigley's is one of the leading brands in the food & beverages sector. Wrigley's SWOT analysis evaluates the brand by its strengths & weaknesses which are the internal factors along with opportunities & threats which are the external factors. Let us start the SWOT Analysis of Wrigley's:

Quick Glance:

• Opportunities

Wrigley's Strengths

• Pioneer in chewing gum sector
• Attractive packaging
• Wrigley products have a good quality perception
• Good distribution and availability of the product
• Strong brand name of the parent company adds value
• Presence across 180 countries make it a popular brand
• Over 15,000 people are employed in the company
• Strong parent company means good availability and presence

Above are the strengths in the SWOT Analysis of Wrigley's. The strengths of Wrigley's looks at the key internal factors of its business which gives it competitive advantage in the market and strengthens its position.

Wrigley's Weaknesses

• Intense competition means limited market share growth
• Switching cost is low which means low brand loyalty

These were the weaknesses in the Wrigley's SWOT Analysis. The weaknesses of a brand are certain aspects of its business which it can improve.

Read more about Wrigley's

• Wrigley's Marketing Strategy & Mix

Wrigley's Opportunities

• Try more of non-traditional marketing procedures like center fresh
• Chewing gum with ayurvedic content and formulation, eg: with herbs that improve the health of oral cavity.
• More advertising and marketing campaigns can boost the business

Above we covered the opportunities in Wrigley's SWOT Analysis. The opportunities for any brand can include prospects of future growth.

Wrigley's Threats

• Too many smaller and local players coming up with their products
• Complementary offers don’t really work as much as they did earlier

The threats in the SWOT Analysis of Wrigley's are as mentioned above. The threats for any business can be external factors which can negatively impact its business.

Read Similar SWOT analysis

• 3. Perfetti  Melle

Hence this concludes the Wrigley's SWOT analysis.

Continue reading more about the brand/company.

About Wrigley's

The table below gives the brand overview along with its target market, segmentation, positioning & USP

This article has been researched & authored by the Content & Research Team . It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

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