Fruit Stripe chewing gum is officially getting discontinued
The colorful confectionery Fruit Stripe gum has been discontinued from production after more than 50 years of operation.
According to Food and Wine Magazine, a representative of Ferrera Candy stated, “We have made the difficult decision to sunset Fruit Stripe Gum, but consumers may still be able to find the product at select retailers nationwide.”
Fruit Stripe gum discontinued after more than 50 years: ‘Difficult decision’ https://t.co/IHIZQANHYg pic.twitter.com/F7mtTK8LeP
— New York Post (@nypost) January 11, 2024
The spokesperson continued, “The decision to sunset this product was not taken lightly, and we considered many factors before coming to this decision, including consumer preferences, and purchasing patterns.”
Why did Fruit Stripe Gum get discontinued?
Fruit Stripe is not the only gum being discontinued by its company. According to CBS News, Super Bubble, an individually-wrapped bubble gum, was also announced to be discontinued.
Ferrera Candy claims the gums have been a part of a yearslong decrease in gum consumption, “with gum sales down by one-third since 2018.”
Why are gum sales decreasing?
As reported by The Takeout, a 2023 comprehensive report gathered by the National Confectioners Association revealed that gum and mint sales have significantly decreased since 2019, whereas chocolate and non-chocolate sweets were found to have increased in profit.
According to The Takeout, the reason for the drop in gum and mint sales could be due to pandemic-related changes in social habits.
The fear of bad breath in social interactions became mitigated through the COVID-19 pandemic, as mask mandates and social distancing guidelines prevented close interactions. Thus, the desire to use gum and mints decreased as people were less self-conscious about the smell of their breath.
This type of thinking is further supported by The Hershey Company’s rise of gum sales in 2022, which the confectionary maker claims was “driven by less mask-wearing,” per The Detroit News.
How long has Fruit Stripe Gum been around?
The iconic striped gum, Fruit Stripe, was first introduced in the 1960s and came in five different flavors: Cherry, Orange, Lemon, Peach and Wet N’ Wild Melon, per CNN. Each pack of gum, in addition, contained a temporary tattoo of the gum’s mascot, Yipes — an energetic cartoon zebra with multiple colors of stripes.
Super Bubble, on the other hand, was invented in 1946 as Bub’s Daddy and is sold in apple, watermelon and grape flavors, per Ferrera Candy’s website.
Where to find the gums
According to research done by Mashable, there are “little to no retailers” selling Fruit Stripe in their gum inventories, so retailers as big as Walmart or Amazon, or as small as mom-and-pop shops, may not have the products available. However, it’s advised by Mashable to not spend hundreds of dollars through eBay listings; instead, keep searching for the products through “smaller retailers.”
For those also wanting Super Bubble gum, these products are also limited in availability, and consumers can search for Super Bubble in ways similar to searching for Fruit Stripe gum.
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