Juicy Fruit facts for kids
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| Product type | Chewing gum |
|---|---|
| Owner | Wrigley Company |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 1893 |
| Related brands | Wrigley's Spearmint, Doublemint |
| Website | http://www.juicyfruit.com/ |
Juicy Fruit is a very popular American brand of chewing gum. It is made by the Wrigley Company, which is now part of Mars, Incorporated. Juicy Fruit gum was first sold way back in 1893. Today, almost everyone in America knows its name!
Contents
What is Juicy Fruit?
The Mystery Flavor
The exact fruit flavor of Juicy Fruit gum is a bit of a secret! Advertisements don't say exactly what fruit it is. Some people think it tastes like a mix of banana and pineapple. Others say it reminds them of jackfruit. Some books even suggest that peach is a key part of its taste.
Scientists think the flavor might come from a chemical called isoamyl acetate. This chemical is also found naturally in fruits like jackfruit.
Who Chews Juicy Fruit?
Most people who chew Juicy Fruit gum are younger than 20 years old. Kids aged three to eleven are some of its biggest fans! However, about 40% of people who buy it are 20 years old or older.
A famous person who likes Juicy Fruit is Sean Payton. He used to be a coach for the New Orleans Saints football team. He was known for asking for Juicy Fruit during games!
What's in the Gum?
Juicy Fruit gum is mostly made of sugar and a special gum base. It also has other ingredients like corn syrup and dextrose, which make it sweet. Natural and artificial flavors give it its unique taste. Glycerol and lecithin help make the gum soft. It also contains artificial sweeteners like aspartame and acesulfame K. A yellow coloring and a preservative are also added.
In the UK, the ingredients are similar. They include sugar, gum base, glucose syrup, flavorings, and a humectant (glycerol). It also has an emulsifier (soybean lecithin), sweeteners (acesulfame K, sucralose), and an antioxidant (BHA).
History of Juicy Fruit
When William Wrigley Jr. started his business in Chicago, he first sold soap. To get people to buy his soap, he gave away free baking powder. People liked the baking powder more than the soap! So, he started selling baking powder instead.
In 1892, Wrigley Jr. decided to give away something new with his baking powder: a few sticks of chewing gum. Guess what? The chewing gum became even more popular than the baking powder!
So, in 1893, William Wrigley Jr. changed his business again. He started selling chewing gum. That year, he launched a new flavor called Juicy Fruit. This new gum helped the Wrigley Company become one of the most famous gum companies in the world!
Changing Looks of the Wrapper
When Juicy Fruit first came out, its wrapper was very simple. It was plain with "JUICY FRUIT" written in red letters. In 1914, the wrapper changed. It had thin white and green stripes. "Wrigley's Juicy Fruit Chewing Gum" was in the middle, inside a special emblem.
During World War II, Juicy Fruit gum was hard to find for regular people. This was because the ingredients were needed for the war effort. The gum was also put into special food packages for soldiers.
After the war, Juicy Fruit came back to stores. The striped wrapper was gone. It was replaced with a bright yellow background. The words "Juicy Fruit" were placed between two chevron shapes. These shapes looked like arrows, similar to the "Wrigley arrow" used for Wrigley's Spearmint gum.
The bright yellow wrapper is still used today. Since 2002, the arrow shapes have changed to look like the corners of a long smile under the brand name. Juicy Fruit is still a very popular gum!
In 2003, in the United States, Wrigley's changed Juicy Fruit's recipe. They replaced some of the sugar with two artificial sweeteners: aspartame and Acesulfame potassium.
Juicy Fruit in Pop Culture
The name "Juicy Fruit" has appeared in songs. "Grapefruit—Juicy Fruit" is a song by Jimmy Buffett from 1973.
The gum also inspired the 1983 song "Juicy Fruit" by the band Mtume. You might also remember a Juicy Fruit jingle from TV ads in the 1980s. It ended with the catchy words: "the taste, the taste, the taste is gonna move ya!"
Sadly, in 2022, Juicy Fruit was stopped being sold in Germany and Austria. This happened along with other famous Wrigley's flavors like Wrigley's Spearmint.
