Kraft, Wrigley Add Five-Stick Gum Packs to Boost Sales

CHICAGO -- Kraft Foods Inc. and Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. plan to offer smaller packs of gum at lower prices in order to increase sales, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

Kraft is already selling five-stick packs of Trident and Stride gums for 50 cents each, while Wrigley, which is owned by Mars Inc., will sell smaller, cheaper packs starting in 2012. Both reportedly hope to snag consumers who have rejected pricier gum packs.

"This pack provides us with an opportunity to re-engage with some consumers who left the gum category or who are entering convenience stores with less money in their pockets," said Basil Maglaris, spokesman for Kraft. The smaller packs will bring in less money but a greater percentage of per-pack profit.

Kraft will position the smaller Trident and Stride packs in standalone displays for convenience stores. Trident will be available in both original and spearmint flavors, and Stride in spearmint. Starting in December, the new packs will be placed alongside other gum packs.

Wrigley, which makes the Orbit, 5, Eclipse and Extra gum brands, has a leg up on Kraft, boasting a larger market share and sales of sugarless gum that increased 0.4 percent to $1.25 billion over the last year. Kraft's market share fell approximately six percent to $888 million, according to data provided by SymphonyIRI Group that does not count sales at Walmart stores.

Global gum and candy sales constituted 10 percent of Kraft's revenue in fiscal 2010, according to the report.

 

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