1. Research into other major gum brands
Extra - Extra is a brand of sugar free gum produced by the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in North
America, Europe, some parts of Africa and Australasia? It was launched in 1984 as the company's first ever
sugar free product, and became one of the most popular brands of gum in the United States within a few
years. It was also the first sugar free gum not to use saccharin, instead using the NutraSweet brand, a
sweetener developed by G.D. Searle & Co. that had less bitterness and also proved to be safer in humans and
laboratory animals; it was later reformulated with aspartame in 1997.
The brand identity of Extra gum varies considerably in different markets, often having completely different
flavours, logos and slogans for each country. Extra is currently the sponsor of the Mexican national football
team.
In 2007, extra became the first chewing gum to receive the American Dental Association's 'Seal of Acceptance'.
In 2011, Extra Oral Healthcare Program partnered with the Chinese Ministry of Health to launch a three-year
community oral care education pilot program, which establishes community dental clinics, trains local dentists
and establishes oral care records for 7,000 families across 14 communities. The results of the program will
inform the Ministry of Health’s future oral care policy.
Wrigley’s - The William Wrigley Jr. Company is a company headquartered in the GIC (Global
Innovation Centre) in Goose Island, Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded on April 1, 1891, originally
selling products such as soap and baking powder. In 1892, William Wrigley, Jr., the company's founder, began
packaging chewing gum with each can of baking powder. The chewing gum eventually became more popular
than the baking powder itself and Wrigley's reoriented the company to produce the popular chewing gum.
The company currently sells its products in more than 180 countries and districts and maintains 140 factories
in various countries and districts, including the United States, Mexico, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada,
Spain, New Zealand, the Philippines, Czech Republic, Germany, South Africa, Argentina, Tanzania, Tunisia,
Somalia, North Korea (the only US enterprise there France, Kenya, China (including Taiwan), India, Poland, and
Russia.
In 2005, Wrigley purchased the Life Savers and Altoids businesses from Kraft Foods for US$1.5 billion. On
January 23, 2007, Wrigley signed a purchase agreement to acquire an 80 percent initial interest in A. Korkunov
for $300 million with the remaining 20 percent to be acquired over time. On April 28, 2008, it was announced
that Mars, Incorporated would acquire Wrigley for approximately $23 billion. Financing for the transaction was
provided by Berkshire Hathaway, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. Berkshire Hathaway holds a minority equity
investment in the Wrigley subsidiary.
The Wrigley Building on Michigan ave, one of Chicago's most well-known landmarks on the Magnificent Mile,
still belongs to the company, but has not been Wrigley's headquarters since 2005.