Cadbury to release chocolate gum

Posted by Daniel Palmer on 16th June 2008

Cadbury, the world’s largest confectionery company, has announced plans to sell chocolate flavoured chewing gum.

The product, described by Cadbury as “indulgence without the guilt”, is set to hit UK shelves next month as the company seeks to eat into the market share of Wrigley.

Known as Trident Sweet Kicks, the gum has a mint shell with a liquid chocolate centre, which reportedly provides an initial chocolate taste before providing a longer lasting mint flavour. The product will, like the rest of the Trident products, have no sugar and only about 5 calories per pellet.

Cadbury has recently been seeking to increase demand for chewing gum in the UK and, with chewing gum sales representing only 7% of confectionery sales in the UK as opposed to 10% in Australia and the US, the company views the market as a lucrative growth opportunity.

“We are excited to be launching these fantastic new Trident offers into what we see as a high growth potential UK gum market,” Kate Harding, Trade Communications Manager at Cadbury, said. “Consumers view Trident as the innovators in the gum market and we know that providing them with exciting and relevant new flavours drives purchase and category growth. Trident Sweet Kicks brings a unique flavour proposition to the gum category in the UK and we expect the product to drive incremental growth for the category through its success.”

Cadbury is likely to come under heightened competitive pressure in coming years, as the Mars takeover of Wrigley will combine the world’s largest chocolate company with the largest gum maker, creating a confectionery company larger than Cadbury.