Rules of gum

How suppliers must envy Wrigley. After all, it's every supplier's dream to get their product on the counter right by the till. In most c-stores this pride of place belongs to a chewing gum rack - stacked full of Wrigley and, increasingly, Cadbury's Trident products.

Both companies have been busy launching new varieties and there have been worries that retailers don't have room to stock them all. However, Mini Patel of Premier Box of Delights at Woodstock, Oxford, says she makes lots of room for both Trident and Wrigley gum. "We have packets on the counter and underneath; they sell well to students. We recently received some samples of Trident so were able to give those out and they went down well. We have loads of different flavours; we wouldn't stock them if they didn't sell."

Nigel Owen of N&J Owen in Malpas, Cheshire, has three tills and each has an impulse unit for gum. "They are mixed stands of Trident and Wrigley. We haven't room to stock every flavour, but we stock the majority. If a new flavour comes out we delete a slower-selling line to make space for it. The mint gums are most popular; we have a chocolate & mint one at the moment that's going well. Older people prefer mint flavours while the youngsters like the fruity ones."

However, Ann Young, manageress of a Londis store in Wakefield, Yorkshire, says that she sometimes struggles to find space for new flavours.

Jonathan Summerley, senior buyer at specialist confectionery cash and carry Hancocks, understands her position. "Quite honestly, there are still too many products to choose from in mints and gums.

"The last phase of Trident launches has not worked for us. While Trident's share of shelf has grown, its sales are declining. Sweet Kicks was a disappointment in terms of sales and the range will certainly benefit from rationalisation.

"The Wrigley's Fusion range also didn't hit the spot for our customers. I understand that Wrigley is now reducing the number of variants, which will help independent retailers greatly."

Rachel Bevans, senior consultant at brand agency Dragon, praises Cadbury for targeting a relatively untapped youth market with Trident and for developing products, packaging and communications that reflect their lifestyles and values. But she reckons it's unlikely that more innovation will gain more space for the category. She says: "Gum already benefits from high levels of enviable 'eye-level' distribution, particularly in the c-store channel.

"Since the Trident launch, there has been a range of new launches from Cadbury and Wrigley, with packaging and product formats, and more recently, flavours. It feels as though there are still potential areas for opportunity in occasions, audience segmentation and communicating functional benefits in an emotionally compelling way - similar to the way we've seen functional food marketed over the past few years."

Wrigley defends its aggressive new product development programme by saying its new products and packaging concepts are designed to meet the needs of the "evolving consumer". Corporate communications manager Alexandra MacHutchon says: "New products generate excitement within the category, but most importantly are instrumental in growing the category. In fact, Wrigley's success is reflected by a third of Wrigley sales coming from products less than five years old."

Bevans believes Wrigley's has the lead with functional gum (Orbit, Extra and Airwaves) and in particular dental recognition for oral health and the company's research into heightened concentration and stress relief.

It is the Wrigley Science Institute (WSI) which brings together academic research and independent studies that look at the many different benefits of chewing gum, which range from the belief that chewing sugar-free gum can relieve stress to other clinically recognised benefits include aiding concentration, helping to fight plaque, weight management and increasing alertness.


Motives


You only have to look at the market sales data to see why suppliers are keen to launch new products. After all the excitement of 2007 when chewing gum sales soared thanks to Trident's entry into the market, sales dropped by 8.5% last year (AC Nielsen). However, Wrigley reports that the category is now in steady growth again and remains buoyant, currently worth £265m.

Cadbury is currently backing Trident Soft peppermint and spearmint with a poster campaign on sites close to CTNs to ensure that retailers see the benefits of the campaign. Activity also includes nationwide sampling.

Cadbury trade communications manager Kate Harding comments: "Trident has a 61% (AC Nielsen) share of the fruit gum market and with this new campaign we are hoping to create the Trident effect within mint gum."

She says that while the new campaign will drive awareness of the Trident mint range, there is a place for both mint gum and fruit gum and recommends retailers stock a varied range of both in order to cater for all preferences.

"Fruit gum has achieved growth of 37% (AC Nielsen) and Trident has a 61% share of the fruit gum market. Trident Soft tropical twist and Trident Splash strawberry & lime are the number one and number two fruit SKUs respectively in the market, and account for 40% of Trident's 61% share of total fruit gum. Since Trident launched, fruit gum has doubled in size, with a 12% share of the total UK gum market."

However, Hancocks reports that fruit gum is the fastest declining sector in the market as consumers revert back to the core flavours.

Meanwhile, mindful of its privileged position on shop counters across the country, Wrigley recently launched an improved counter unit for its gum. Called the CMU 21, the company says the design has been updated for the 21st century.

The company claims that its till point displays deliver better sales and profits for retailers than others available. In three independently run tests, stores with a Wrigley display delivered chewing gum category sales on average 5.2% greater than those with a non-Wrigley display, and tests reveal consumers are 67% more likely to buy gum from a Wrigley display than a non-Wrigley display.

Over at Hancocks, Summerley's advice is simple: "Maintain a strong display of gum, taking advantage of any pos material available. Always try new lines as they are usually supported by marketing activities. However, be quick to react if they don't sell in your store."