Gum varieties have long served as go-to solutions for those looking to kill time, quell a nervous habit, share with friends or quit smoking. None of these rituals is going anywhere—but gum is.
A pillar of the overall confection category, gum has been heading south from a dollar and unit perspective for some time. And while manufacturers are attempting to change direction with new products, all that innovation is part of the problem.
“Consumers are overwhelmed by gum choices; they’re confronted with so much that they actually freeze,” says Beth Bloom, food and drink analyst for Chicago-based market research firm Mintel.
For other consumers, it’s a seismic shift in the way they approach the category. When asked why they were turning away from the gum segment, more than half of those surveyed said they “have not thought much about gum,” says Bloom.
In the 24-week period ending June 15, dollar sales of sugarless gum in c-stores fell 5.1% and unit sales dropped 7.4%, according to Chicago-based IRI. The regular-gum category was down 1.7% and 0.8%, respectively, with the total gum category falling 4.5% in dollar sales and 5.6% unit sales.
But as one door shuts, another has opened—for mints. Overall, the sales of breath-freshener-oriented products, led by mints, have risen 19% from 2008 to 2013 to reach $729 million, says Mintel.
As manufacturers attempt to match gum and mint product innovation with the realities of today’s consumer needs, how should retailers respond?
Very prudently.
Gum Drops, Mints Rise
With the segment falling on hard times, the natural inclination of gum makers would intuitively be to pull back on the innovation reins. Yet it continues unabated.
Such innovation is viewed by industry observers as misguided, if not top-heavy: The products filling the pipeline feature enough exotic flavors to make consumers think they’re engaging in a dessert occasion—which, for the most part, they really aren’t. “Innovation doesn’t reflect the main need state that consumers are seeking, which is a gum product that acts as a breath-freshening solution,” says Bloom. Seventy-six percent of consumers who consume both gum and mints are looking for a breath-freshening payoff first and foremost, she says.
Then there’s a mutually exclusive bugaboo that dogs the segment. “People find the chewing and chomping of gum to be annoying, where mints are not as messy and you don’t have to find a place to throw them away,” says Reilly Robinson Musser, category manager of center-store products and general merchandise for Santa Clara, Calif.-based Robinson Oil Corp., which owns and operates 34 Rotten Robbie c-stores.
Indeed, gum is a messy topic in Rotten Robbie stores these days. Musser says the chain suffered double-digit percentage sales drops for gum compared with the same time last year.
Meanwhile, mints are countering gum’s downward spiral in a big way, and Mintel’s Bloom says the reason transcends the breath-freshening payoff.
“In a typical mint package, there’s more bang for the buck,” says Bloom, citing The Hershey Co.’s Ice Breakers Chews, which start as gum and dissolve in one’s mouth, as an example of both innovation and value combined.
Musser points to mint varieties such as Altoids, Mentos and Ice Breakers for picking up the slack for the gum drop in her stores: Mint sales rose 10% over the 12 weeks ending in late August.
As of late, larger-size Rotten Robbie store that once offered 8- to 9-foot gum sets have been scaled back, says Musser: “We reduced space, including moving gum off the sales counter and replacing it with chip products.”
Narayan Baddam, a Shell-branded c-store retailer in Decatur, Ala., agrees with the gum diagnosis, saying that mints have become far more popular in his two stores. “I used to sell more higher-price-point gum,” says Baddam. “A lot of times it was for customers who quit smoking. I probably have seen gum units drop about 40% over the past year.”
Two brands he cites as sustaining solid sales in his stores are Wrigley’s Doublemint and a variety of Orbit flavors, also from Wrigley. Baddam says he does notice gum sales trend upward if more customers are using it to quit smoking, and that diabetic consumers will reach for the sugarless gum, adding life to those offers.
CONTINUED: High Hopes for the Category
Hope Springs Eternal
The gum category requires what Mintel’s Bloom calls “a reboot,” and she suggests manufacturers strive to achieve the best of both worlds: fun flavor plus breath-freshening elements.
“Serve a dual purpose if you can, such as a strawberry-mint flavor. Make it fun, make it breath freshening that allows the product to clean a user’s palate,” says Bloom. “A focus on function will be a key to enlivening sales and turning products into planned purchases that meet a specific need, rather than fun, impulse buys.”
One option Bloom gives high marks to is Trident Layers, which combines a mint layer with a lemon one.
Temple, Texas-based The McLane Co. recently identified solid traction with items such as Wrigley 5 Ascent, Sour Patch Kids gum and some new Trident flavors. Mints are growing sales almost proportionally to gum’s decline, although McLane does not see it taking all of the subcategory’s business, according to a recent corporate report chronicling the segment.
Mint-fruit flavors are doing well, but the largest portion of the mint category is still being driven by minty flavors. McLane has advised retailers to cut back on gum space where it makes sense and allocate it to items with good growth potential, such as nonchocolate hand-to-mouth items Innovating based on demographic tendencies is also advisable. Gum experiences a significant usage drop by age. A key age group for the category appears to be 25- to 34-year-olds, according to Mintel. While gum products see the highest participation among most consumer groups, the use of gum declines sharply with age.
Gum makers and retailers alike can better approach the category “by going back to basics,” says Musser. “When you have 10 flavors of Orbit and 10 flavors of Wrigley 5, it adds to the uncertainty.”
Gum sales in 34 Rotten Robbie stores suffered a double-digit slide in 2013, but a glimmer of hope came during a four-week period at the end of August when gum performance flattened out—down only 0.7%, says Musser.
Beyond breath freshening, new gum positioning can occur in other ways, and manufacturers and retailers should capitalize on it.
“Communicating to customers that gum can be a weight-loss solution or a mood enhancer is just a suggestion,” says Bloom. “Such a focus can allow for premium positioning and will enable retailers to expand display opportunities, moving products beyond the confectionery aisle into other parts of the store.”
The long-term good news: Gum is a gigantic category that isn’t going away despite the losses. “While it’s true that breath-freshener mints have grown 20%,” says Bloom, “it’s still a segment that is only a quarter of the size of gum.”
Brands on the Move
Gum innovation has not been without its hits—even some home runs and triples. Sugarless-gum brands that were on the move in the 24 weeks ending June 15, 2014, according to IRI, included Mentos Pure Fresh with 39.3% dollar sales growth and 38.9% unit growth. Stride, Dentyne Ice, Wrigley’s Extra and Wrigley’s Spearmint also saw notable sales and unit growth, despite a 5.1% dollar sales drop and a 7.4% unit sales drop for the sugarless category as a whole.
Some other varieties breathing some innovation into the segment:
▶ MintiQ is a GMO-, gluten- and nut-free mint with 2 calories per mint. Sweetened with a hint of monkfruit extract—an all-natural, zero-calorie sweetener—MintiQ features Yakima Peppermint, Farwest Spearmint, Iced Lemon, Spicy Cinnamon, Breezy Blackberry and Cool Pomegranate flavors. The variety is a naturally sugar-free mint made with 100% natural ingredients and no artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors.
▶ Orbit Apple Remix joins existing flavors Orbit Strawberry Remix and Orbit Tropical Remix. Orbit Apple Remix is packaged in a 14-tab envelope pack and a multipack with three 14-tab envelope packs. Other varieties recently rolling out from Wrigley include 5 Gum Ascent, 5 Gum Photon, Orbit for Kids, Extra Gum Mixed Berry, and Extra Dessert Delights Peach Cobbler.
▶ Launched last January from Mondelez International Inc., Stride Sour Patch Kids gum is noted for providing a sour followed by sweet taste experience, while Stride gum—launched in 2006—is geared to celebrate people who “fearlessly live their lives and do their thing,” according to the manufacturer. Stride Sour Patch Kids gum is available in Redberry and Lime flavors.
▶ Pur gum is infused with flavors naturally with no artificial ingredients. Derived from cinnamon bark, Pur Cinnamon provides a balance of hot and sweet taste sensations. Meanwhile, Pur Coolmint refreshes one’s breath with a clean, crisp and chilling flavor.
▶ Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit Fruity Chews are sugar-free soft-chew gum varieties that are available in Juicy Fruit Original and Juicy Fruit Strawberry flavors. Packaged in a bottle, the variety has an SRP of $3.49. Another new brand extension from the company, Juicy Fruit Bubble Gum is offered in Juicy Fruit Original and Juicy Fruit Sweet Strawberry flavors with an SRP of 79 cents.
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