Two multi-national companies, Wrigley and

Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. ...

, together account for some 60% market share of the worldwide

chewing gum Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its tex ...

market. The global market shares for the top five chewing gum companies are estimated to be: * 35%

Wrigley Company Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, also known as Wrigley Company or simply Wrigley's, is an American multinational candy and chewing gum company, based in the Global Innovation Center (GIC) in Goose Island, Chicago, Illinois. Wrigley's is a subsidiary ...

(US) * 26%

Cadbury Trebor Bassett Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. ...

(UK)Candy USA
, November 7, 2006. * 14% Lotte (South Korea + Japan)

Euromonitor Euromonitor International Ltd is a London-based market research company founded in 1972. The firm is well regarded, and its research database has been described as the "Cadillac of industry information sources", but subscriptions have been descr ...

, 2002. * 6%

Perfetti Van Melle Perfetti Van Melle is an Italian– Dutch multinational company of confectionery Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although ex ...

(Italy) * 2% Hershey's (US) The remaining 17% of the global market is provided by an estimated 200 to 250 smaller gum companies, some of which are listed below. The worldwide chewing gum industry in 2012 is estimated to be worth $26 billion in sales, and has grown by more than 14% in the last three years. Chewing gum accounts for 85% of global sales, and bubble gum the other 15%.

History

*1848:

John B. Curtis John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

developed "State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum" *1869: exican general, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna brought Chicle from Mexico to New York*1872: homas Adams Jr. sold his brand "Adams New York No. 1" with a picture of New York’s City Hall, 2 for a penny*1875: dams add shredded liquorice to his chicle mass and created the first known flavored gum – Adams’ Black Jack gum.*1880: illiam J. White added corn syrup, sugar and flavoring to his "Yucatan" brand*1881: ivil War doctor from Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Edward E. Beeman, added pepsin compound as a digestive aid*1891:

(US) was established *1895: enry Fleer, the brother of Frank H. Fleer, started the brand "Chiclets"*1899: 899, William J. White, of Yucatan fame, started the merger of six manufacturers to form the American Chicle Co.*1899: ranklin V. Canning developed Dentyne a contraction of “dental hygiene” gum with pink-colored gum with a cinnamon flavor*189?: rank E. Barbour started Beech-Nut gum *1906: rank H. Fleer Co., introduced the first bubble gum, Blibber-Blubber.*1909: r. Louis A. Dreyfus formed the L.A. Dreyfus company*1915

Stimorol Stimorol is a brand of chewing gum originally produced by the Danish company Dandy and since 2023 owned by the Italian-Dutch company Perfetti Van Melle. History The privately owned company was founded by Holger Sørensen in 1915 in Vejle, Den ...

(Denmark) was established by Dandy *1916: ranklin V. Canning sold Dentyne trademark and process to the American Chicle Co.*1916: rigley Co. acquired a controlling interest in the L.A. Dreyfus Co. and, in 1935 became sole owner*1916:

The Hershey Company The Hershey Company, often called just Hershey or Hershey's, is an American multinational corporation, multinational confectionery company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. T ...

enters the chewing gum business *1918: NACGM ational Association of Chewing Gum Manufacturers(US) establishe

*1919: Ford Gum, Ford Gum & Machine (US) established by Ford Mason * 1921: lark Chewing Gum Co. of Pittsburgh started Teaberry, Tendermint, and Cinadent brands.*1921: Leaf Confectionery (US) established *1926: Richardson Brands (US) established *1928:

Donruss Donruss was a US-based trading cards manufacturing company founded in 1954 and acquired by the Panini Group in 2009. The company started in the 1950s, producing confectionery, evolved into Donruss and started producing trading cards. During the ...

(US) established *1928: alter Diemer, at the Fleer Company, improved the quality of bubble gum "Dubble Bubble" *1937: hite Laboratories introduced Aspergum, an analgesic gum. "Pheenamint", a laxative gum and Chooz, an antacid gum containing calcium carbonate.*1938:

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...

(US) established *1946: mbrogio and Egidio Perfetti, started Perfetti S.p.A. in Lainate, Italy*1948: he Japanese company, Lotte, began chewing gum operations*1948: r. Bruno Petrulis of Amurol Products Company developed a sugar-free chewing gum.*1948: Maple Leaf (Holland) established *1949: laude E. Parfet formed Krema-Hollywood Chewing Gum in France.*1953:

(US) establishes the

Bazooka The Bazooka () is a Man-portable anti-tank systems, man-portable recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", th ...

bubble gum brand *196?: merican Charms Co., Vincent Ciccone, conceived the idea of inserting a bubble gum filling in a ball lollypop named “Blo Pops”*1962: merican Chicle o. was acquired by the Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical Co.*1964: merican Chicle Co. introduced their first sugar-free chewing gum, Trident*1965: Damel (Spain) established *1971: Proaroma (Brazil) established *1974: arner-Lambert launches "Freshen Up" liquid center filled gum.*1975:

Life Savers Life Savers (stylized as LifeSavers) is an American brand of ring-shaped hard and soft candy. Its range of mints and fruit-flavored candies is known for its distinctive packaging, coming in paper-wrapped aluminum foil rolls. Candy manufacturer ...

established

Bubble Yum Bubble Yum is a brand of bubble gum marketed by The Hershey Company. It was first sold by Life Savers in test markets in the Western U.S. in 1974. National distribution began in 1976. History In 1977, rumors began to spread that the gum's soft ...

*1977: Bubblicious established *1979:

Hubba Bubba Hubba Bubba is a brand of bubble gum produced by Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated. Introduced in the United States in 1979, the bubble gum got its name from the phrase "Hubba Hubba", which some military personnel in ...

established by Wrigley *1979:

launches a sugarless version *1980:

Big League Chew Big League Chew is an American brand of bubble gum made to resemble chewing tobacco. It was created by Portland Mavericks left-handed pitcher Rob Nelson and bat boy and future filmmaker Todd Field. It was then pitched to the Wrigley Company (long ...

launched by Wrigley *1983:

Huhtamäki Huhtamäki Oyj (styled Huhtamaki) is a global food packaging company, headquartered in Espoo, Finland. Its products include paper and plastic disposable tableware, such as cups, plates and containers for quick service restaurants, coffee sho ...

(Finland) creates the

Leaf Group Leaf Group, formerly Demand Media Inc., is an American content company that operates online brands, including eHow, livestrong.com, and marketplace brands Saatchi Art and Society6. The company provides social media platforms for large compa ...

gum & candy business through the US acquisitions of Leaf Confectionery, D. L. Clark Company, Richardson Brands and the

division of

General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...

*1985:

(Finland) acquires Ford Gum, Ford Gum & Machine (US) *1988: Bubble Tape created by Amurol subsidiary of Wrigley *1989: EACGI uropean Association of the Chewing Gum Industry(Belgium) established *1992: Fleer acquired by Marvel Entertainment (comics publisher) *1993:

(UK) buys its first chewing gum business with the acquisition of Stani (Argentina) *1995: Fleer shuts down its

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

plant and moves its corporate office to suburban

Mount Laurel, New Jersey Mount Laurel is a Township (New Jersey), township in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township, and all of Burlington County, is a part of the Philadelphia-Reading, Pennsylvania, Reading-Camd ...

*1996:

(US) closes its bubble gum factories in

Duryea, Pennsylvania Duryea is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, south of Scranton. The Susquehanna River marks Duryea's western boundary and the Lackawanna River flows through Duryea. It was incorporated as a bo ...

(US) and Innishmore (Ireland) and out-sources its

bubble gum production to Hersheys (US) *1996:

(US) acquires Leaf's gum brands: Rain-Blo and Super Bubble *1997:

(Finland) acquires the gum business of the Wuxi Leaf joint-venture in China *1998:

(Finland) divests the

Leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leav ...

(Spain) gum business to Damel *1998: Concord Confections buys Dubble Bubble from Marvel Entertainment and moves operations to suburban

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

*1999: Zed Gum (Ireland) is established *1999: CSM (Netherlands) buys the Leaf Europe candy and gum business from

(Finland) for €390 million *2000:

(UK) buys

Kraft Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...

's "Hollywood" chewing gum business in France for €185 million *2000:

(US) buys Fruit Stripe and

gum brands and mints from

Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco' ...

(US) *2000:

(UK) buys the small Wuxi Leaf gum business in China from

(Finland) for only €3 million *2000: Concord Confections partners with

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

and

Children's Miracle Network Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals) (French: (RES)) is a nonprofit organization that raises funds for children's hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. Donations support the health of more than 10 million children each year. Donat ...

to conduct a national bubble-blowing contest across America for children 12 and under (conducted annually until 2006) *2001: Perfetti (Italy) merges with Van Melle (Netherlands) *2002:

(UK) buys a 51% stake in the gum and candy business of Kent Gida (Turkey) for €110 million *2002: Zed Gum (Ireland) acquires Leaf (Ireland) from CSM and changes name to Zed Candy *2002:

(UK) buys Dandy's gum brands, mainly in Scandinavia & Russia for €310 million *2003:

(US) sells Fruit Stripe, Rain-Blo and Super Bubble gum brands to Farley & Sathers Candy Co. (US) *2003: Concord Confections (Canada) acquires Philadelphia Chewing Gum (US) and moves production to suburban Toronto *2003:

(UK) buys the global gum business of the Adams gum division from

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...

for $4.2 billion *2004:

(US) buys the Joyco gum and candy and Cafosa Gum Base business from Agrolimen (Spain) for $272 million *2004:

Tootsie Roll Industries Tootsie Roll Industries () is an American manufacturer of confectionery based in Chicago, Illinois. Its best-known products include the namesake Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Pops. Tootsie Roll Industries currently markets its brands internationall ...

(US) acquires Concord Confections (Canada) for $197 million *2005: ICGA nternational Chewing Gum Association(Belgium) established by the merger of the NACGM and EACG

*2006:

(UK) invests €148 million to expand gum capacity in Poland and Mexico *2006:

(UK) buys the other 49% of Kent Gida (Turkey) for €80 million *2006:

(Italy) buys candy and gum company

Chupa Chups Chupa Chups () is a Spanish brand of confectionery found in over 150 countries. The brand was founded in 1958 by Enric Bernat, and is currently owned by the Italian- Dutch company Perfetti Van Melle. The name of the brand comes from the Spanish ...

(Spain) for an estimated €400 million *2006: ZOFT Gum Company (US) established *2008: ars Inc., makers of M&Ms, buys the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. and forms Mars-Wrigley*2009: Vitamin Gum , Vitaball, Inc. (US) *2009: Chicza Organic chewing gum (MEX) launched in the UK and others countries of EU *2010: PUR Gum (CA) established *2011: Ello Gum (US) established *2017: First Energy Holding B.V. (NL) established *2019: QUICK ENERGY Co.Ltd. (Czech Rep) established

References

External links

The Story of Gum
Confectionery industry Chewing gum Mass production Industries (economics) {{Confectionery-stub

History

See also

References

External links