Ice Breakers is a brand of

mints A mint or breath mint is a food item often consumed as an after-meal refreshment or before business and social engagements to improve breath odor. Mints are commonly believed to soothe the stomach, given their association with natural byproducts ...

and

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 ...

owned by

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 ...

. Its line of soft, cube-shaped gum is branded as Ice Cubes.

History

Ice Breakers was launched in the 1990s by Nabisco Holding's LifeSaver division in order to compete with similar mint brands. Hershey purchased Ice Breakers from Nabisco in 2000 for $135 million in a deal that also included mint and chewing gum brands like Bubble Yum, Breath Savers, CareFree and Stickfree. Ice Breakers began showing growth following the acquisition by Hershey. In 2006, it was reported that Hershey had the third largest share of the chewing-gum market and it viewed Ice Breakers as a means of expanding its share. As of 2014, it was reported that overall chewing-gum sales were in decline. It was thought by some economy experts to be due to the economy at the time and a larger variety of choices outside of chewing gum. In 2016, it was reported that Ice Breaker's sales of its ''Ice Cubes'' product had increased from 2015.

Products and promotions

Ice Breakers manufactures and sells mint and

products including cool mints, peppermint chews and soft, cube-shaped gum branded as ''Ice Cubes''. In 2003, Ice Breakers launched Liquid Ice, a liquid filled mint. An advertising and PR campaign that centered around

Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Johnson (née Simpson; born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, '' ...

was also launched to promote the product. In 2004, the company released its dual-pack gum and mints. Later that year, Ice Breakers signed Hilary and Haylie Duff as the brand's spokeswomen. In April 2018, Ice Breakers launched an edible glitter-sprinkled gum that they hoped would appeal to

Millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s a ...

. The company has also sponsored athletes including

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

driver

Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for '' NASCAR on Fox''. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewa ...

and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA). Ice Breakers Frost mints were discontinued in September 2022.

Product controversy

In 2007, Hershey released Ice Breakers PACS, wherein a powdery mint mixture was encased by two blue dissolving layers. It received national attention for its resemblance to street narcotics. Hershey denied the resemblance, but pulled the product out of the market shortly thereafter. Ice Breakers gum was banned in the

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

i market due to containing pig gelatin.

References

External links

* Brand name confectionery Breath mints Chewing gum The Hershey Company brands {{Confection-stub