Wrigley’s chewing gum celebrates its 100 year anniversary
UK Marks 100 Years of Wrigley
Wrigley’s chewing gum was first offered over the counter at a chemist’s shop 100 years ago today – and now 725million packets are chewed in Britain each year.
Chewing gum products were first made in the 1860s from the milky juice of the sapodilla tree that grows in central American rainforests.
But it was not until 1911 that William J Wrigley brought the gum he first sold with tins of baking powder over the Atlantic from his company’s Chicago base.
Spearmint was the only flavour on sale at Heppells chemist shop in Picadilly, central London, but juicy fruit was to follow three years later.
Wrigley set up a warehouse in London’s Tottenham Court Road in 1921 and a factory in Wembley six years later. During World War II, when American GIs in Britain had the gum in their ration packs, it began to be seen as luxury item.
After an era of austerity, it was associated with glamour and youth in the 1950s.
Hamish Thomson, Wrigley’s general manager for Britain said: ‘Despite all the political, cultural and technical changes, the core of what we do remains clear – to celebrate simple pleasures to brighten everyone’s day.’
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Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/878882-wrigleys-chewing-gum-celebrates-its-100-year-anniversary#ixzz1b7ag1pu3