BUSINESS
John Chamblissl Managing Editor
770-718-3407 I news@gainesvilletimes.com
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia
Weekend Edition-March 8-9, 2024
Blowin in the wind
Lindsey Wasson Associated Press
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Jhonathan Diaz blows a bubble during the first inning of a spring training base
ball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Feb. 25, in Peoria, Ariz. Gum maker Mars says its research shows half
of gum consumers chew to relieve stress or help their focus.
Candy companies seek ways to increase interest in gum
BY DEE-ANN DURBIN
AP Business Writer
Charles Rex Arbogast Associated Press
Mars Wrigley employee Tammy Steffek folds over a sheeting of Extra gum
pellets at the company’s innovation lab Tuesday, Jan. 23, in Chicago. From
stress relief to concentration aid, gum makers look for ways to make
Americans chew again.
Candy companies want to know: What
will make Americans start chewing gum
again?
Gum's bubble burst during the
COVID-19 pandemic, when masks and
social distancing made bad breath less
of a worry and fewer people spent on
impulse buys. The number of packages
of gum sold dropped by nearly a third in
the United States in 2020, according to
Circana, a market research firm.
Consumer demand has picked up
only slightly since then. Last year, U.S.
chewing gum sales rose less than 1 % to
1.2 billion units, which was still 32%
fewer than in 2018. Although sales in
dollars are back to pre-pandemic levels,
that's mostly due to inflation; the average
pack of gum cost $2.71 last year, $1.01
more than it did in 2018, Circana said.
It's a similar story globally. Worldwide
gum sales rose 5% last year to more
than $16 billion, according to market
researcher Euromonitor. That still was
10% below the 2018 sales figure.
Some manufacturers are responding
to the bland demand by leaving the
market altogether. In 2022, Mondelez
International sold its U.S., Canadian
and European gum business, including
brands like Trident, Bubblicious,
Dentyne and Chiclets, to Amsterdam-
based Perfetti Van Melle.
Chicago-based Mondelez, which
makes Oreos and Cadbury chocolates,
said it wanted to shift resources to brands
with higher growth opportunities.
Other American confectioners are
cutting slow-selling brands. Ferrera
Candy Co., which is headquartered
in Forest Park, Illinois, quietly ended
production of Fruit Stripe and Super
Bubble gums in 2022 after more than 50
years.
Chewing gum is fighting more than
a virus, however, when its comes to
regaining its flavor. Lynn Dornblaser,
the director of innovation and insight
at market research firm Mintel, said
a growing number of consumers are
trying to limit sugar in their diets and to
eat foods with more natural ingredients.
That limits the appeal of gum, since
even sugar-free varieties often contain
artificial sweeteners.
U.S. consumers, like those in Europe
and Asia, also may be increasingly
concerned about the stubborn litter
from used gum, Dornblaser said.
Singapore famously banned the sale,
import and manufacturing of chewing
gum in 1992, blaming the careless
disposal of the substance on subways
for gumming up service. More recently,
the U.K. government persuaded gum
manufacturers to pay for a street
cleaning program to help remove gum
and gum stains.
Dan Sadler, a principal for client
insights at Circana, has noticed
generational differences in gum chewing.
Generation X, the cohort born
between 1965 and 1980, tends to chew
gum more than other age groups, he said.
Millennials generally show less interest
in gum and candy, while Generation
Z consumers are more interested in
novelty candies like sour gummies.
Nielsen says U.S. unit sales of gummies
rose 2.5% over the last year and 4% the
year before.
Mars Inc., which owns the 133-year-
old Wrigley brand, thinks it may have
an answer: repositioning gum as an
instant stress reliever rather than an
occasional breath freshener. In January,
the company launched a global ad
campaign promoting its top-selling
Orbit, Extra, Freedent and Yida brands
as tools for mental well-being.
Alyona Fedorchenko, vice president
for global gum and mints in Mars'
snacking division, said the idea stuck in
the summer of 2020, when the company
was frantically researching ways to
revive sales.
Fedorchenko remembered talking
to a nurse in a hospital COVID-19
ward who chewed gum to calm herself
even though she always wore a mask.
The nurse's habit meshed with studies
by Mars that showed half of chewers
reached for gum to relieve stress or
boost concentration.
“That, for us, was the big ‘Aha!"’
Fedorchenko said. “We've had a century
of legacy of fresh breath, and that is still
very important. Don't get me wrong.
But there is so much more this category
can be.”
Emphasizing wellness is part of a
multi-year effort to attract 10 million
new U.S. chewers by 2030, she said.
Mars also is introducing new products
like Respawn by 5 Gum, which is
aimed at gamers. The gum contains
green tea and vitamin B, and the
company promotes those ingredients
as a way to help improve focus. Sold in
three flavors, Respawn by 5 could lure
customers from smaller brands like Rev
Energy Gum, which contains caffeine.
Investigators
confirm pilots’
account of jet
rudder failure
BY DAVID KOENIG
AP Airlines Writer
Federal investigators said Thursday they confirmed
pilots' account of a brief failure of rudder controls on
a Boeing 737 Max after it landed at Newark Liberty
International Airport in New Jersey last month.
United Airlines pilots said pedals that control rud
der movement on the plane were stuck as they tried
to keep the plane in the center of the runway during
the Feb. 6 landing.
The pilots were able to use a small nose-gear steer
ing wheel to veer from the runway to a high-speed
turnoff. The rudder pedals began working again as
the pilots taxied to the gate with 155 passengers
and six crew members on the flight from Nassau,
Bahamas, according to a preliminary report by the
National Transportation Safety Board.
Boeing said this is the only rudder-response issue
reported on a Max, although two similar incidents
happened in 2019 with an earlier model of the 737
called NG or next generation, which has the same
rudder-pedal system.
The manufacturer said the issue was fixed by
replacing three parts. The plane has made dozens of
passenger-carrying flights since then, according to
data from Flight Aware.
Jobless claims
hold at low
level of 217K
BY AUGUSTA SARAIVA
Bloomberg News
Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits
held at historically low levels last week, the latest
evidence of a resilient labor market.
Initial claims were unchanged at 217,000 in the
week ending March 2, according to Labor Depart
ment data released Thursday. That was in line with
the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of
economists.
In the decade before the pandemic, such claims
averaged more than 300,000 a week.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the total number of
people receiving unemployment benefits, ticked up
to 1.91 million in the week ending Feb. 24.
While initial claims have remained subdued,
recurring applications have been trending higher in
the past six months, suggesting it may be taking lon
ger for people who lost their jobs to find a new one.
Looking ahead, economists expect the labor market
to moderate in coming months as still-elevated prices
and soaring borrowing costs take a toll on firms'
expansion plans.
Weekly claims tend to be choppy. The four-week
moving average, which smooths out some of that
volatility, was also little changed at 212,250 last
week.
The unadjusted data on initial claims, which
doesn't take into account seasonal influences, rose
to 213,152. New York accounted for the majority of
the increase.
U.S. companies announced some 84,600 job cuts
in February, according to data out Thursday by exec
utive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Although technology and financial companies are
still the primary sectors shedding jobs, more indus
tries are now trimming their workforce.
“Businesses are aggressively slashing costs and
embracing technological innovations, actions that
are significantly reshaping staffing needs,” Andrew
Challenger, the firm's senior vice president, said in
the report.
The government's monthly employment report
due Friday is forecast to show a pullback in hiring
and wage growth in February after both advanced
significantly in the previous month. Economists
expect U.S. employers to have added 200,000 jobs
last month.
U.S. job openings remained elevated in January,
though firms hired at a slower pace and employees
grew more wary of quitting their jobs, according to
data out Wednesday. A separate report showed pri
vate companies hired at moderate pace in February.
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