End of the road for Wrigley's functional gum
its Surpass Antacid chewing gum, designed to offer relief from
heartburn, with effect from 28 March 2003.
Wrigley, the US-based chewing gum manufacturer, has today announced today that it is to stop shipping its Surpass Antacid chewing gum with effect from 28 March 2003.
Surpass was introduced two years ago by the Wrigley Healthcare Division as a functional gum providing heartburn relief.
"Despite its effectiveness and the loyalty of many consumers who tried it, the Surpass brand has not built the critical business mass required to sustain it for the long-term, " said Darrell Splithoff, Wrigley's senior vice president of supply chain and corporate development.
"And while sales of this brand did not live up to our expectations, the Wrigley Company remains dedicated to developing new, innovative chewing gum and confectionery products and will continue to explore the delivery of functional benefits," he added.
Wrigley Healthcare said it was working closely with its retail partners to facilitate the reduction of stocks and communicating the decision to consumers.
Wrigley said that the costs associated with the product discontinuation would be minimal, and that all business activities related to Surpass were expected to be completed by the end of May 2003.
The Wrigley Company is the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of chewing gum, with global sales of nearly $2.8 billion. The company markets its world-famous brands in over 150 countries. Those brands, a couple of which have been around for over 100 years, include Doublemint, Wrigley's Spearmint, Big Red, Juicy Fruit, Winterfresh, Extra, Freedent, Hubba Bubba, Orbit, Excel, Eclipse, Airwaves, Alpine, Cool Air, and P.K.
