Give your industry long-lasting freshness

March 10, 2024 9:08 AM

Chewing gum sales plunged during the pandemic as consumers stepped back from contexts in which they needed fresh breath. They still haven't recovered, and gum manufacturers are pivoting to marketing gum as stress relief. No matter what, we'll always have Annie's 2004 classic "Chewing Gum".
posted by escabeche (36 comments total)

Morons! The best use of gum is to keep your mouth from drying out due to the amphetamines you have to take to stay functional. Give us a gum that make you drool for more than five minutes. That’s the million seller.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:37 AM on March 10 [8 favorites]

Megan Schwichtenberg, a public relations account director from Minneapolis, buys into the idea of gum as a quick respite. She often chews a piece of fruit-flavored Mentos gum when she’s driving or at the gym, and finds that chewing gum stops her from clenching her jaw during the workday.

I am reminded of a post I saw on Mastodon recently that went something like “Congratulations on creating a society so stressful that everyone is chewing up their own teeth every night.”
posted by Horace Rumpole at 10:01 AM on March 10 [24 favorites]

I should understand this by now but this explains why Costcos selection of gum is significantly smaller and they no longer carry my fav. Of course without that price anchor the price on Amazon is frequently double, so I’ve been trying other flavors of Trident.
posted by zenon at 10:26 AM on March 10

Mine always loses its flavor on the bedpost overnight.
posted by kyrademon at 10:33 AM on March 10 [16 favorites]

Came to make a joke about millennials killing Big League Chew, but I did some cursory research and discovered it very much still exists. Time to go out and get some flavorless shredded chewing-tobacco training aid!
posted by Zargon X at 10:38 AM on March 10 [2 favorites]

I'm only in it for the Bazooka Joe comics.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:43 AM on March 10 [4 favorites]

When Wrigley's changed the formula of Spearmint sometime in the 90's I gave up on them. Gone was the refreshing flavor and chew - replaced with a squishy lackluster facsimile of the original. You could almost smell the cologne of the bean counter who thought it was a good idea to change the formula.

Bring back the OG gums. And enough with the cardboard dumb packaging. 5 sticks in a foil pack. Keep it simple, stupid.
posted by underavenue at 10:46 AM on March 10 [1 favorite]

cool idea but it's 2024 and i can't chew gum with all these nicotine pouches in my mouth
posted by ZaphodB at 10:49 AM on March 10 [5 favorites]

MENTOS: THE FRESHMAKER
posted by basalganglia at 10:52 AM on March 10 [1 favorite]

I WISH there was cardboard packaging. Some tool got the bright idea that they could replace the biodegradable cardboard with plastic boxes, so now all the gum in the checkout aisle at Target is in plastic. Gum lasts 30 seconds before losing its flavor, but rest assured that the packaging will outlive humanity. Fucking hell.
posted by caution live frogs at 11:07 AM on March 10 [13 favorites]

I think chewing helps make dopamine available for other voluntary muscle activity.

Think of the phenomenon of geriatric chewing, for example, and the phenomenon of athletes chewing gum during games before the era of mouthguards.
posted by jamjam at 11:26 AM on March 10 [3 favorites]

Get your skis shined up
Grab a stick of Juicy Fruit
The taste is gonna move ya
Take a stick
Pull it out
The taste is gonna move ya when you pop it in your
...
MAOOOOOUUUUUUUUUTHHH yeah!

[Ray Manzarek organ solo]
posted by credulous at 11:28 AM on March 10 [10 favorites]

I gave up gum about 4-5 years ago because I didn't like the idea that most gum base is made of plastic ( polyvinyl acetate), but I caught myself on the gum trip again recently. I'd be curious for any MeFites to weigh in on this.

Pro tip: brushing your teeth when you have the urge to chew gum seems to do a good job of satisfying your mouth.
posted by furtive at 11:35 AM on March 10

Bring back the OG gums. And enough with the cardboard dumb packaging. 5 sticks in a foil pack. Keep it simple, stupid.

Idk if it's in response to anything or just part of the regular cycling, but Blackjack, Beeman's and Clove gums are back on shelves in my town right now, in the classic five pack of sticks. I picked some up at Jo-Anne fabric of all places, but people tell me it's elsewhere too.
posted by SaltySalticid at 11:51 AM on March 10 [1 favorite]

I was never a gum chewer. Never understood the appeal. My day, however, was a big gum chewer. All day, every day. I think he rotated a stick of gum in-between cigarettes.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:20 PM on March 10

Metafilter: on the gum trip again
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:30 PM on March 10 [2 favorites]

Bring back Cinn-A-Burst
posted by fluttering hellfire at 12:38 PM on March 10 [3 favorites]

*shudder*

I have a recurring nightmare about chewing gum, have not chewed in many many years. I just use my stanky breath to keep other humans at bay.
posted by supermedusa at 12:54 PM on March 10 [2 favorites]

I've been chewing spruce gum to avoid plastic these days. I personally enjoy it, but it falls into the acquired taste category. You either have to chew really slow at first or just accept that you're crunching up dust until turns into the gum texture you're used to. The slight bitterness and spruce flavor means it probably won't have the mass appeal it once commanded.
posted by ockmockbock at 1:01 PM on March 10 [1 favorite]

I have always chewed gum- especially in class and then for tests, as it seemed easier to recall if I was chewing gum. I like Pur xylitol gum in the cinnamon flavor though no flavor lasts as long as the old-school Trident (which is nearly impossible for me to find around here). Xylitol has a few health benefits so I don't feel bad about being a regular chewer.
posted by oneirodynia at 1:07 PM on March 10 [2 favorites]

I'm only in it for the Bazooka Joe comics

Still the best one
posted by chavenet at 1:12 PM on March 10 [4 favorites]

A classic indeed!
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:31 PM on March 10 [1 favorite]

i love gum. i actually really like to chew gum when i am playing bass onstage, it THINK it helps me relax and not turn into ms rushy-rush. i always have a couple packs of gum stashed in my bass case / amp case. well, almost always! i have had to scout out fellow chewers in the crowd and bum a piece sometimes. in summary, gum rules, if you know you know.
posted by capnsue at 1:33 PM on March 10 [1 favorite]

I have a picture of my first Barber haircut and just off to the left, can barely see it in the mirror, is the big ole class jug of bazooka Joe's.

my third Barber Shop haircut I remember because I leaned back when the barber was using his clippers and nicked myself pretty darn good of course back then he was a little concerned at first and then had that suck it up attitude which I did, my mom picked me up of course he explained what went on and I said "I leaned into the clippers mom", as we were leaving, the barber said come here and get your comb, son went over and got the comb and he handed me a big old handful of fresh bazooka Joe said see you next time. Free haircut for mom I got a scar and bunch of Joe's and all seemed right in the world.
posted by clavdivs at 2:43 PM on March 10 [6 favorites]

a big old handful of fresh bazooka Joe

Otherwise known as an hour's supply...
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:15 PM on March 10 [2 favorites]

You think you're chocolate..
posted by signal at 4:42 PM on March 10

My grandfather wore a pocket protector, and somehow was allowed to shave with his Philips electric razor at the breakfast table, he alway always had a big pack of Doublemint in his breast pocket. If you asked for a piece he would rip you half a stick, foil included for later disposal. If he wasn't around we'd find my grandma and ask if we could have a stick of trident from the gum drawer. They always had Cool Bubble flavour, which my parents refused to buy.
posted by furtive at 5:26 PM on March 10 [1 favorite]

I am completely surprised that gum sales went down during the pandemic. Was everyone just using breath mints inside their masks instead? I know I went through way more mints than usual (I stopped chewing gum a few years ago because of dental issues) and I remember seeing the shelves of mints (and gum, I believe) at a few stores on the bare side and I figured it was because of all the masking.
posted by dlugoczaj at 7:49 PM on March 10 [4 favorites]

Haven’t read the article, but my husband basically stopped going into the grocery store for shopping during the pandemic as we switched to grocery pickup. For our household specifically, I also left my job to be a SAHP, so my husband basically never shopped at all anymore. About a year ago, on to way to meet some friends, I sent my husband into a grocery store to grab some chips and guac for their party. He came out with chips, guac, and 8 packs of trident gum. He had always impulse purchased his gum at checkout, but hadn’t had the opportunity to do so for years!
posted by samthemander at 11:00 PM on March 10

I don’t really understand the argument. I try to make sure I have clean breath before going out with a mask. Otherwise I get a terrible dose of my own bad breath. Mind you, I brush my teeth instead of chewing gum. But really, good breath is really important to me with COVID precautions. And the usual note: The Pandemic Is Not Over.
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 11:17 PM on March 10 [2 favorites]

I'd conjecture that dental hygiene took a hit during lockdown. Somebody out there may have numbers about an uptick in dental work getting done once people emerged. If that guess is true, that might also contribute to reduced gum sales; I can't be the only person whose chief reason to avoid gum is a vague unease about chewing it due to dental work.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 2:31 AM on March 11 [1 favorite]

I'm kind of floored at the idea that people chew gum for fresh breath in the first place TBH. Is this a thing?
posted by signal at 5:43 AM on March 11 [2 favorites]

I'm kind of floored at the idea that people chew gum for fresh breath in the first place TBH. Is this a thing?

I'm a lifelong gum- and mint-hater, and definitely had high-school acquaintances who told me it was antisocial for me to refuse to chew gum after a group outing to a restaurant (specifically because I'd breathe my post-meal bad breath all over the other passengers in the car).
posted by nanny's striped stocking at 6:22 AM on March 11

I am here to recommend She Kept Chewing Gum by Donald Jacobs. - which suggests a use case different from fresh breath or stress relief.
posted by rongorongo at 8:34 AM on March 11

I think I’ve figured out something you could do with chewing gum that would make it a huge seller — and to a population that might otherwise be pretty resistant as well as the usual suspects.

Combine your gum with a time release version of the the remineralizing agents that repair cavities and are all the rage in toothpastes right now.

Probably in the works already, though.

Expect to see it on the shelves in ~3 months.
posted by jamjam at 1:46 PM on March 14

I like chewing gum and do find it pretty stress-relieving... until I absentmindedly chomp the inside of my cheek and make a blistery sore that hurts for days afterward. >_<
posted by Rhaomi at 3:56 PM on March 22 [1 favorite]