Bidding to bridge the gap between Gum and Confectionery, Mars Chocolate and Wrigley has unveiled Starburst Chewing Gum.
Starburst Fruity Mixies, Starburst Strawberry Cubes and Starburst Red Berry Sticks are all sugar-free and are available to retailers from this month.
The launch is aimed at the 15 to 24-year-old audience, where fruit gum significantly over-indexes. This is despite the Gum category’s 20% drop in penetration for the younger generation over the last decade.
Hero SKU Starburst Fruity Mixies is available in three flavours: Strawberry, Apple and Bubblegum. Available in 24-pellet small pack, 48-pellet handybox and 100-pellet bottle formats, the range hits three key price points – 49p RSP, £1 RSP and £2 RSP respectively.
Packs of 30 Strawberry Cubes also RSP at £2, while a five-pack of Red Berry Sticks weighs in at 49p RSP. These give Starburst fans the opportunity to taste two of the brand’s top-performing flavours in a sugar-free format.
Starburst Chewing Gum will be supported with a comprehensive marketing campaign. A wide range of POS material is available to retailers including till point, at fixture and front of store branding, as well as product trials in-store and social media activity.
“We are extremely excited to launch Starburst into a completely new category and provide consumers with a brand new fruity chewing experience,” said Alyona Fedorchenko, Marketing Director at Mars Chocolate and Wrigley UK.
“Research tells us there is a huge opportunity to grow gum penetration by introducing a ‘candy-like experience’, and that Starburst is the brand to lead this with. Already over indexing with 15 to 24-year-olds, Starburst is an established brand which resonates with consumers and we hope this new innovation will successfully deliver the sugar-free confectionery solution that UK shoppers desire.”
