Wrigley's New Chewing Gum Packs a Dose of Caffeine

For those tired of getting their energy boosts in liquid form, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. has a proposition to chew on: caffeinated gum.

The world's largest gum company, known for brands like Juicy Fruit and Doublemint, plans to start selling Alert Energy Caffeine Gum next month at convenience stores, supermarkets and mass retailers in the U.S. Wrigley said it is targeting consumers 25 and older who want a portable energy product that will let them control their caffeine consumption.

Wrigley hopes to tap into fast-growing sales of energy products at a time when gum demand has lost its zest. But the introduction of Alert also comes amid criticism of energy drinks by consumer groups and regulators concerned about their safety and use by teenagers. Last summer the New York Attorney General's office issued subpoenas to Monster Beverage Corp., MNST -1.95% the maker of Monster energy drinks; PepsiCo Inc., PEP +0.44% maker of AMP; and Living Essentials LLC, maker of 5-hour Energy, seeking information on their marketing practices.

The Food and Drug Administration is investigating reports of people who died after consuming such beverages, but has said there is no evidence so far linking the deaths to the drinks. The city of Chicago is considering a ban on energy drinks containing 180 milligrams or more, per container, of caffeine, as well as taurine or guarana, ingredients commonly found in energy drinks.

Wrigley said it is making and marketing Alert in ways designed to discourage misuse or overuse. It said it created an entirely new brand so that none of its existing brands known to teens or younger children would be associated with caffeine.

The hexagonal shape of Alert's pieces doesn't resemble traditional oval or rectangular-shaped gum pellets; and at a suggested retail price of $2.99, it is about twice the cost of a normal pack of gum. On the back of the Alert package, the company states the gum is "not recommended for children or persons sensitive to caffeine."

A pack of Alert contains eight pieces, with each pellet containing 40 milligrams of caffeine. Wrigley said that is about half the amount found in a typical eight-ounce cup of coffee.

Alert comes in fruit and mint flavors, but has a bitter, medicinal taste, the company said.

"The taste expectations are different for someone who wants to chew gum for energy than for someone who chews gum for flavor. If you come at this as a piece of gum that you chew for enjoyment it's not going to deliver on that," said Casey Keller, president of the North America division of Wrigley, a subsidiary of Mars Inc. "What we found from energy [drink] consumers is that they're used to this taste. It's symbolic of efficacy." He adds: "Kids won't like the taste."

"We've taken great pains to make this different than traditional gum," Mr. Keller said.

U.S. chewing gum sales have been falling since 2010, amid factors including changing consumer behavior and economic weakness. U.S. sales of energy-boosting food and beverages, meanwhile, have grown 43% since 2008 to $9.9 billion last year, according to Euromonitor International. Caffeine, the primary ingredient in such products, is showing up in everything from a new line of Cracker Jacks to Jelly Belly Sport Beans.

Michael Jacobson, executive director of Center for Science in the Public Interest, said he is concerned that the proliferation of caffeinated products could lead people to consume more caffeine than they realize. "You can start the day with caffeinated waffles and syrup and have caffeinated marshmallows as a snack and a coffee later," he said.

The Mayo Clinic said that for most healthy adults, 200 to 300 milligrams of caffeine—the amount in about two to four cups of brewed coffee—isn't harmful but that more than 500 milligrams daily can cause insomnia, nervousness and rapid heartbeat, among other things.

Mr. Keller said the large size of the Alert pellets—about the diameter of a nickel—is intended to discourage people from chewing more than one at a time.

Wrigley interviewed consumers of energy drinks and found that they want more portability as well as more control over how much caffeine they consume in one sitting. People who want a little boost can chew one pellet while people who want more can chew more, the company said.

Smaller competitors have tried energy gums, with mixed results. GumRunners LLC makes Jolt gum, containing caffeine, guarana and ginseng. The company didn't reply to requests for comment. Think Gum LLC sells about $120,000 of its Think Gum annually, according to company founder Matt Davidson. AMP in 2010 discontinued an energy gum it had sold that contained caffeine, B vitamins and taurine, according to a Pepsi spokesman, deciding to focus on beverages.

"The other gums that have come into the market don't have broad distribution. We're going to put full marketing support behind this," said Mr. Keller, describing plans to sample the products in stores and advertise widely. He declined to say how much Wrigley intends to spend marketing Alert or how much it expects to generate in sales.

Wrigley actually already has a caffeinated gum, but it isn't for average consumers. In 1997, a Wrigley subsidiary developed Stay Alert gum containing 100 milligrams of caffeine to help soldiers battle fatigue. Wrigley licenses the brand to Marketright Inc., which sells the gum to the U.S. military. The company is planning to change the name of the gum later this month to Military Energy Gum to avoid confusion with Alert.