Bubble Gum History
The History of Gum
Where does bubble gum originate? Who made bubble gum? What was the first bubble gum brand? What is the most popular bubble gum brand today? These are all questions that people often wonder when thinking about gum. Gum is something that is chewed around the world and there is a lot of history behind it, such as who invented it, the first company that started producing it, and the first people who chewed it.
The history of bubble gum goes all the way back to the ancient times. The ancient Mayans chewed “chicle”. Chicle in Spanish means gum. They got this “chicle” from a tree called a Sapodilla tree. They chewed chicle to help quench their thirst and help fight hunger. In North America, Indians chewed spruce tree resin …show more content…
started very small. In 1891, he moved from Philadelphia to Chicago. When he moved, he sold soaps and baking powder. When he sold soaps or baking powder, he would give a free stick of gum with it. He noticed that the gum was more popular than the soaps so he decided that he would sell the gum instead. In 1893, William made a company and introduced two brands: Wrigley’s Spearmint and Juicy Fruit. After finding success selling gum, Mr. Wrigley knew he had to engage in an aggressive marketing campaign to reach as many clients as he could. In order to do this, Wrigley had to mortgage everything to be able to raise the funds, which he did. The campaign proved to be a huge success, making Wrigley gum a household name. William created a company which respected employee rights and employees with benefits.Working at Wrigley, employees had Saturday and Sunday off. A job at Wrigley was a desirable job. During the Great Depression, William set minimum wage levels so workers could have security during times of economic uncertainty. In 1915, William had the first-ever nationwide campaign. For this campaign he shipped sticks of gum to every address in the U.S. phone book. After the phonebook campaign William’s son was named president of the company and helped do the campaigning. Phillip (William’s son) put ads on the radio and put ads on the “funny pages” in the newspaper. From 1932 to 1962 the company hired an artist named Otis Shepard. Otis made the iconic Doublemint twins. During World War II Wrigley was cut off from all his ingredients for making gum. When they stopped the supply Wrigley made Orbit gum, a wartime substitute. After World War II, Wrigley introduced two new brands: Big Red and Freedent. After they made these two brands they began a global expansion to get their product to as many customers as possible. Between 1960 and 2000 Wrigley made nine new facilities
Where does bubble gum originate? Who made bubble gum? What was the first bubble gum brand? What is the most popular bubble gum brand today? These are all questions that people often wonder when thinking about gum. Gum is something that is chewed around the world and there is a lot of history behind it, such as who invented it, the first company that started producing it, and the first people who chewed it.
The history of bubble gum goes all the way back to the ancient times. The ancient Mayans chewed “chicle”. Chicle in Spanish means gum. They got this “chicle” from a tree called a Sapodilla tree. They chewed chicle to help quench their thirst and help fight hunger. In North America, Indians chewed spruce tree resin …show more content…
started very small. In 1891, he moved from Philadelphia to Chicago. When he moved, he sold soaps and baking powder. When he sold soaps or baking powder, he would give a free stick of gum with it. He noticed that the gum was more popular than the soaps so he decided that he would sell the gum instead. In 1893, William made a company and introduced two brands: Wrigley’s Spearmint and Juicy Fruit. After finding success selling gum, Mr. Wrigley knew he had to engage in an aggressive marketing campaign to reach as many clients as he could. In order to do this, Wrigley had to mortgage everything to be able to raise the funds, which he did. The campaign proved to be a huge success, making Wrigley gum a household name. William created a company which respected employee rights and employees with benefits.Working at Wrigley, employees had Saturday and Sunday off. A job at Wrigley was a desirable job. During the Great Depression, William set minimum wage levels so workers could have security during times of economic uncertainty. In 1915, William had the first-ever nationwide campaign. For this campaign he shipped sticks of gum to every address in the U.S. phone book. After the phonebook campaign William’s son was named president of the company and helped do the campaigning. Phillip (William’s son) put ads on the radio and put ads on the “funny pages” in the newspaper. From 1932 to 1962 the company hired an artist named Otis Shepard. Otis made the iconic Doublemint twins. During World War II Wrigley was cut off from all his ingredients for making gum. When they stopped the supply Wrigley made Orbit gum, a wartime substitute. After World War II, Wrigley introduced two new brands: Big Red and Freedent. After they made these two brands they began a global expansion to get their product to as many customers as possible. Between 1960 and 2000 Wrigley made nine new facilities