Stride (gum) facts for kids
Stride is a popular brand of sugar-free chewing gum. It was first created by a company called Cadbury, which is now part of Mondelēz International. Stride gum usually comes in packs of 14 pieces and was first introduced in May 2005. It became well-known for its promise of having a very long-lasting flavor.
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What Stride Gum Flavors Are Available Now?
Stride gum comes in many different flavors. Here are some of the latest ones you might find:
- Spearmint
- Peppermint
- Icymint
- Lemonberry
- Melopeach
- Sour Patch Kids (These come in Redberry, Lime, Orange, and Watermelon flavors!)
Stride Gum Flavors That Are No Longer Made
Over the years, Stride has released many flavors, and some of them are no longer sold. This happens when companies update their products or try new things. Many of the original "1.0" and "2.0" series flavors, along with special lines like "Shift" and "Spark," have been discontinued.
Stride 2.0 Series
In February 2011, Stride launched a special line of gum called the "2.0" series. This series was made to update and improve some of the original Stride flavors, giving them a fresh new taste.
Stride Shift Gum
Stride Shift was a unique gum that changed flavor as you chewed it! It came in two exciting combinations: Berry to Mint and Citrus to Mint. The packaging for these gums had two main colors to show the flavor change. For example, Berry to Mint came in magenta and light blue packaging. This special gum was not sold in Canada.
Stride Spark Gum
Spark was another interesting type of Stride gum. It came in three flavors: Kinetic Mint, Kinetic Berry, and Kinetic Fruit. What made Spark special was that each piece contained some Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12. The label said that one piece provided 25% of the Recommended Daily Allowance for these vitamins.
Where Stride Gum Is Sold Around the World
Stride gum was first only available in the United States. But in January 2008, it started to be sold in Canada too. The first flavors to arrive in Canada were Spearmint, Sweet Peppermint, and Forever Fruit. Now, most Stride flavors can be found in Canada.
In Europe, some Stride flavors are sold under a different brand name called Trident Senses. For example, the Winterblue 2.0 flavor is sold as Mint Breeze, and Forever Fruit 2.0 is sold as Tropical Mix.
Countries Where You Can Find Stride Gum
Stride gum is available in several countries around the world, including:
- USA
- Canada
- China
- Australia
The Look and Design of Stride Gum
The unique 'S' logo and the design of the Stride gum package were created by a special design company. Almost all Stride gum packages feature this 'S' logo. However, one flavor called Mega Mystery replaces the 'S' with a question mark ('?') on the front of its package, which fits its mysterious theme! In 2014, the 'S' logo was updated. The new 'S' design is used on flavors like Spearmint, Peppermint, Winterblue, Nonstop Mint, Stride Spark Kinetic Mint and Fruit, and Sour Patch Kids.
How Stride Gum Was Advertised
Stride chewing gum was first shown to the public at a big candy event in 2006. After three years of development, the company Cadbury announced that they had created a gum with a much longer-lasting flavor. They used a special sweetener called mannitol to achieve this.
Cadbury marketed Stride gum with a catchy slogan: "The Ridiculously Long Lasting Gum." A New York advertising company called JWT was chosen to handle the big launch advertising campaign. They created funny ads that showed people in workplaces, and these ads became very popular. One famous ad showed the CEO of Stride gum comically begging customers to buy more gum because it lasted so long that people didn't need to buy it often!
Stride also used online advertising in creative ways. In 2007, they won an award for "Best Use of Gaming" for an event called "The Ridiculously Long-Lasting Gaming Event." They even teamed up with a gaming platform called Xfire to host a live video game challenge.
In 2006, Stride chewing gum sponsored a worldwide trip for a dancer named Matt Harding. He created a very popular video on YouTube where he danced in different places around the world. This helped Stride gum become even more well-known. Later, in 2009, Cadbury and a gaming website called Kongregate sponsored a contest called "The Longest Lasting Game." They challenged game developers to create a game that focused on endurance, or how long something could last.
The success of Stride and another Cadbury gum brand, Trident, helped the company have very strong sales in 2007. Stride gum was also featured in the TV show Smallville. In one episode, a special kind of Stride gum even gave a character superpowers! A former Stride factory was also used as a concert venue in that episode.
