Gum, Mints and Breath Fresheners - US - May 2008

Table of Contents

• Scope and Themes
• What you need to know
• Definition
• Data sources
• Sales data
• Consumer survey data
• Abbreviations and terms
• Abbreviations
• Terms
• Executive Summary
• Market size
• Two major suppliers dominate
• Mergers may make the strongest stronger
• Category marketing activity is concentrated in sugarless gum
• Recent innovation has focused on flavor
• Expanding distribution outlets equals expanding sales
• Key advertising themes delivered with a dose of irreverence
• Kids, teens, young adults control the category
• Market Size and Forecast
• Key points
• Sugarless gum leads category growth
• More retail outlets means more chances to pick up gum
  • Figure 1: Total U.S. sales and forecast of gum, mints, and breath fresheners at current prices, 2002-12
  • Figure 2: Total U.S. sales and forecast of gum, mints, and breath fresheners at inflation-adjusted prices, 2002-12
• Competitive Context
• Corporate dealing changes the category playing field
• Segment Performance
• Key points
• Spurred by new brands and innovation, sugarless gum has become the format of choice for the category
  • Figure 3: U.S. sales and forecast of gum, mints, and breath fresheners at current prices, by segment, 2002-12
  • Figure 4: U.S. sales of gum, mints, and breath fresheners, by segment, 2005 and 2007
• Segment Performance--Sugarless Gum
• Key point
• Sugarless gum has become the focus of innovation for the category
  • Figure 5: U.S. sales and forecast of sugarless gum, 2002-12
• Segment Performance--Regular Gum
• Key points
• Buoyed by kids ... but for how long?
  • Figure 6: U.S. sales and forecast of regular gum, 2002-12
• Segment Performance--Breath Fresheners
• Key points
• Breath fresheners left out in the cold as consumers turn to gum
  • Figure 7: U.S. sales and forecast of breath fresheners, 2002-12
• Segment Performance--Plain Mints
• Key point
• A quiet segment receives little attention, but keeps on rolling
  • Figure 8: U.S. sales and forecast of plain mints, 2002-12
• Retail Channels
• Key points
• Riding a wave of convenience
  • Figure 9: U.S. sales of gum, mints, and breath fresheners, by retail channel, 2005 and 2007
• Retail Channels--Convenience Stores
• Key points
• Along for the ride
  • Figure 10: U.S. sales of gum, mints, and breath fresheners at convenience stores, 2002-07
• Retail Channels--Supermarkets
• Key point
• Gum and mint sales flat as channel struggles to redefine itself
  • Figure 11: U.S. sales of gum, mints, and breath fresheners at supermarkets, 2002-07
• Retail Channels--Drugstores
• Key point
• Category helping spur front-end sales growth
  • Figure 12: U.S. sales of gum, mints, and breath fresheners at drugstores, 2002-07
• Retail Channels--Other
• Key points
• A collection of growing channels leads to growing sales for the category
  • Figure 13: U.S. sales of gum, mints, and breath fresheners at other channels, 2002-07
• Market Drivers
• Shifts in population composition by age and race/ethnicity will impact the market
  • Figure 14: U.S. population, by age, 2002-12
  • Figure 15: U.S. population, by race and Hispanic origin, 2002-12
• Interest in healthy eating
  • Figure 16: Attitudes towards healthy eating, 2002-07
• Leading Companies
• Key points
• The strongest may be getting stronger
  • Figure 17: FDMx Sales of leading gum, mints, and breath fresheners companies, 2005 and 2007
• Brand Share--Sugarless Gum
• Key points
• In with the new...
  • Figure 18: FDMx brand sales of sugarless gum, 2005 and 2007
• Brand Share--Regular Gum
• Key points
• Rapid share declines may be difficult to reverse
  • Figure 19: FDMx brand sales of regular gum, 2005 and 2007
• Brand Share--Breath Fresheners
• Key points
• Looking for a leader ... and a big idea
  • Figure 20: FDMx brand sales of breath fresheners, 2005 and 2007
• Brand Share--Plain Mints
• Key points
• Not quite candy, not quite breath fresheners
  • Figure 21: FDM brand sales of plain mints, 2005 and 2007
• Brand Qualities
• A whole new Orbit
• Older brands reinvented
• Dentyne
• Trident
• Wrigley' s classics on the ropes
• Innovation and Innovators
• A flow of new fruit flavors and combinations
• Back to the future -- new gums that go squirt
• Two new brands offer new flavor experiences
• Hershey tries to extend Ice Breakers beyond core category benefits
• Advertising and Promotion
• Overview
  • Figure 22: Media expenditure of selected gum/mint brands, 2005-06
• Oral Care
  • Figure 23: Orbit television ad, 2007
  • Figure 24: Orbit television ad, 2007
  • Figure 25: Orbit White television ad, 2007
  • Figure 26: Trident White television ad, 2007
  • Figure 27: Trident Original television ad, 2007
• Flavor
  • Figure 28: Trident Watermelon Twist television ad, 2007
  • Figure 29: Wrigley 5 television ad, 2007
  • Figure 30: Stride television ad, 2007
  • Figure 31: Extra television ad, 2007
  • Figure 32: Ice Breakers Ice Cubes television ad, 2007
  • Figure 33: Altoids Mints television ad, 2007
• Fresh breath
  • Figure 34: Ice Breakers Ice Cubes television ad, 2007
  • Figure 35: Eclipse Gum television ad, 2007
• Usage
• Incidence of use highest among kids, teens
  • Figure 36: Usage of gum and breath mints/strips--adults, teens and kids, May 2006-June 2007
  • Figure 37: Usage of gum and breath mints/strips--adults, by age, May 2006-June 2007
  • Figure 38: Usage of gum and breath mints/strips--adults, teens and kids, by race/ethnicity, May 2006-June 2007
• Kids and teens prefer sugared gum. Adults evenly split between sugared and sugarless
  • Figure 39: Type of gum chewed--adults, teens and kids, May 2006-June 2007
  • Figure 40: Type of mints eaten--adults, and teens May 2006-June 2007
• With many brands chewed per week, loyalty appears to be low
  • Figure 41: Brands of gum chewed--adults, by age, May 2006-June 2007
  • Figure 42: Brands of gum chewed--teens, May 2006-June 2007
  • Figure 43: Brands of gum liked best--kids, May 2006-June 2007
• Fewer mints/strips brands used
  • Figure 44: Brands of breath strips/mints used--adults, by age, May 2006-June 2007
  • Figure 45: Brands of breath strips/mints used--teens, May 2006-June 2007
  • Figure 46: Brands of breath strips/mints liked best--kids, May 2006-June 2007
• Usage patterns: teens chew most frequently
  • Figure 47: Average amount of gum/mints used--adults, teens, and kids, May 2006-June 2007
• Attitudes and Motivations
• Considerable interest in trying new flavors of gum and mints
  • Figure 48: Trying new flavors of gum and mints, by age, March 2007
• Gum and mints are an everyday thing ... except for business meetings
  • Figure 49: Attitudes towards and opinions about gum, by gender and age, March 2007
• Long-lasting flavor highly valued in gum
  • Figure 50: Attitudes towards and opinions about gum, by age, March 2007
• Interest in functional gum strongest for oral-care benefits
  • Figure 51: Interest in functional gum for oral health/care, by age, March 2007
  • Figure 52: Interest in functional gum for purposes other than oral care, by age, March 2007
• Gum appropriate for a wider array of uses than mints
  • Figure 53: Uses for gum and mints, by age, March 2007
• Appendix: Trade Associations