Wrigley Energy Gum Coming in April

Move over, power energy drinks and energy bars: the world's largest gum maker is chewing over a new caffeinated version.

The William Wrigley Jr. Company, perhaps best known for its Wrigley's Juicy Fruit, Winterfresh, Big Red, Doublemint, Spearmint and Extra product lines, plans to begin selling Alert Energy Caffeine Gum next month at convenience stores, supermarkets and mass retailers throughout the United States.

Alert will be aimed at consumers aged 25 and older wanting a portable boost of energy that will allow them to control how much caffeine they take in.

Wrigley said it opted to launch the new gum brand after it interviewed energy drink consumers who said overwhelmingly they wanted more portability and portion control.

Smaller competitors have tried marketing energy gums, but none of their strategies seem to have, well, stuck with consumers.

Think Gum LLC founder Matt Davidson told the Wall Street Journal his outfit sells about $120,000 of its Think Gum annually. In 2010, Pepsi-owned AMP discontinued an energy gum that contained caffeine, B vitamins and taurine. And GumRunners LLC, producer of Jolt gum, which contains caffeine, guarana and ginseng, did not reply to requests for comment.

"The other gums that have come into the market don't have broad distribution. We're going to put full marketing support behind this," said Casey Keller, president of the North America division of Wrigley.

Wrigley officials hope their entry into the energy products market will re-energize the company itself, which has been working through an industry-wide slump in gum sales.

Data compiled by the Wall Street Journal shows that after more than seven years of growth, gum sales in America started to decline in mid-2010, with overall industry sales down 2.7% to $3.5 billion in 2011. On the other hand, sales of energy-boosting food and beverages in the U.S. grew to $9.9 billion last year, a 43 percent increase since, according to Euromonitor International.

Of course, Wrigley's entry into the energy segment comes at a time makers of energy beverages face intense scrutiny from consumer advocates and regulators over potential safety risks, especially when the drinks are consumed by teens.

The Food and Drug Administration says it has an ongoing investigation into reports of people dying after consuming energy drinks --- although the agency also acknowledges it's so far found no evidence that links deaths to the drinks.

Chicago city officials are is considering a ban on energy drinks that contain 180 milligrams or more of caffeine per container, as well as other ingredients such as taurine and guarana, also commonly found in energy drinks.

Wrigley said pieces of Alert are hexagonal, a significant departure from traditional oval and rectangular gum shapes.

The suggested retail price of a pack of Alert will be $2.99 --- about twice the cost of a typical pack of gum. On the back of the Alert package, the company states the gum is "not recommended for children or persons sensitive to caffeine."

Wrigley believes Alert's packaging, labeling, and pricing should clearly alert consumers the product should not be misused or overused or easily associated with the existing line of non-caffeinated Wrigley gum flavors known to teens or younger children.

Alert comes in a package of eight fruit or mint-flavored pieces, each containing 40 milligrams of caffeine --- approximately half the amount found in a typical, eight-ounce serving of coffee.

"We've taken great pains to make this different than traditional gum," Mr. Keller said.