Company Founded by William Wrigley Jr.
William Wrigley Jr. came to Chicago in the spring of 1891. He was 29 years old, had $32 in his pocket, and possessed unlimited energy and great talent as a salesman. He started out selling soap. As an extra incentive to merchants to carry Wrigley's soap, he offered them free baking powder. When baking powder proved to be more popular than soap, he switched to the baking powder business. One day, Mr. Wrigley got the idea to offer merchants free chewing gum with each can of baking powder. The rest is history.

Juicy Fruit and Wrigley's Spearmint Introduced
Juicy Fruit, the oldest brand in the Wrigley family, was launched just a few months ahead of Wrigley's Spearmint. Juicy Fruit has gone on to become the number one fruit gum brand in the United States and is the number one chewing gum with kids. Juicy Fruit can be found across the globe in countries including Canada, Germany, Thailand, Malaysia, China and Hong Kong. Wrigley's Spearmint was also an overwhelming success. Now, more than 100 years later, Wrigley's Spearmint is sold across the Americas, Europe and Asia.

First Factories Established Outside the U.S.
As the popularity of Wrigley's gum spread, the company began to expand manufacturing to support its brands’ growth. The first factory established outside the United States was in Canada. It was followed by expansion into Australia (1915), Great Britain (1927) and New Zealand (1939). Wrigley continued expanding and now maintains 19 production facilities in: Australia, Canada, China, France, Great Britain, India, Kenya, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain, Taiwan and the United States.

Doublemint Introduced
Doublemint was introduced in the United States in 1914 and has become one of the world's best-selling chewing gums. The unique, minty flavor of Doublemint has been enjoyed by generations of consumers and is available in more than 150 countries worldwide. Wrigley’s unique double distillation process for the mint in Doublemint was the source of this brand’s name.

Construction Begins on Wrigley Building

A symbol of Chicago featured in countless articles, books, films, and television programs, the Wrigley Building and its distinctive towers are an architectural favorite among Chicago's residents and visitors. William Wrigley Jr., who wanted an impressive headquarters for his successful chewing gum company, was the first to build an office tower on the north side of the Chicago River. With completion of the Wrigley Building in 1924, he pioneered development of North Michigan Avenue, which has become Chicago’s "Magnificent Mile"

The Doublemint Twins Concept Makes Its Debut
The Doublemint twins have been part of one of the most successful and long lasting advertising campaigns ever created. In the early days of the campaign, one of the Wrigley-sponsored radio programs featured double piano players, double violinists and double talking comedians. The distinctive billboard campaigns created in the late 1930s by Wrigley art director Otis Shepard fixed the Doublemint twin concept in the American imagination. Shepard's distinctive airbrush techniques and simple, clear designs were well suited for outdoor advertisements and have been widely recognized in the commercial art field.

Wrigley's Gum Production Dedicated to U.S. Armed Forces

During World War II, company president Philip Wrigley led an unusual move to support U.S. troops and protect the reputation of the company's brands. Because of wartime rationing, Wrigley could not make enough top-quality gum for everyone. So rather than compromise the high quality that people expected, the company took Wrigley's Spearmint, Doublemint and Juicy Fruit off the civilian market and dedicated the entire output of these brands to the U.S. Armed Forces. During its absence from the market, Philip Wrigley made sure the Wrigley brands stayed on the mind of consumers by running the "Remember this Wrapper" ad campaign.

Wrigley's Gum Reintroduced to the Civilian Market
After the end of World War II, Wrigley was again able to purchase the high-quality ingredients used in its established brands. Wrigley's Spearmint came back on the market in 1946. Juicy Fruit followed later that same year, and Doublemint reappeared in 1947. Though these brands had not been sold in the United States for two years, they quickly regained and then exceeded their pre-war popularity.

Wrigley Expands Around the World

When William Wrigley succeeded his father, Philip, as president and CEO in 1961, he established a strategic direction of geographic expansion. During his 38-year tenure at the helm of the Wrigley Company, production facilities sprouted up in nine new countries and Wrigley brands became known worldwide. Quality Wrigley brands can now be found in more than 180 countries.

Juicy Fruit launches the Use of UPC Codes
On June 26, 1974, at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, a 10-pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit was run through a hand-made laser scanner. The register ran up the sale - 67 cents. With that, a new, computerized era in supermarket shopping began. Since that first pack of gum, the ubiquitous black and white bar codes have helped track the sales of billions of items and speed many millions of shoppers on their way through the checkout line.

Freedent Introduced

Freedent was introduced in 1975 as the first non-stick alternative in chewing gum. Available in a variety of great-tasting flavors, Freedent’s non-stick formula is great for people who have dental work. Freedent is sold in its traditional stick format in countries including the United States, Germany, New Zealand and France, and is offered in a popular pellet format in Canada.

Big Red Introduced
Big Red came onto the scene in 1975 as Wrigley's first cinnamon gum and has been the number one cinnamon gum since 1987. In 2001, Big Red's hot cinnamon taste was updated to give consumers longer lasting fresh breath. It is available in the United States, Germany and Canada.

Extra Sugarfree Gum Introduced

In the late 70s and early 80s, sugarfree gums entered the U.S. market, but what they all lacked was the great taste that consumers wanted. When Wrigley introduced Extra, its first sugarfree gum in the United States, consumers found the "Extra, Extra, Extra long flavor" they were looking for and within five years Extra became the #1 selling brand of sugarfree gum - and it still is today. Extra is available in seven long-lasting flavors in the U.S., as well as a variety of distinctive flavors, specifically tailored to local tastes, in geographies including Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Taiwan.

Winterfresh Introduced

With a name and taste all its own, Winterfresh created an "icy cool" craze when it was released in the United States. Its unique and stylish advertising has helped make it the number one chewing gum among U.S. teens. In addition to being a past sponsor of the extreme sports X-Games competition, the Winterfresh Network was launched in September 2002 encouraging teens to videotape, record for the radio, or design a print ad that, if chosen, is featured in Winterfresh commercials. Winterfresh has also been extended into the breath strips and mint segments allowing consumers additional options to enjoy the "icy cool" flavor that comes from the Winterfresh brand.

Eclipse Gum Brings Breath-Freshing to a New Level
With its crunchy coating and intense flavors, Wrigley’s Eclipse gum is perfect for providing chewing satisfaction and fresh breath. Since its launch, Eclipse has become one of the top three sugarfree gums in the U.S., and is also popular "down under" in Australia. Its sister product, Excel, brings powerful flavors to Canadian consumers.

Airwaves Honey & Lemon Launched across Europe
In a cross-continent launch, Airwaves Honey & Lemon was introduced simultaneously across 18 different markets in Europe. In addition to its original Honey & Lemon, Airwaves comes in Menthol Eucalyptus, Blackcurrant with Vitamin C, Spicy Cocktail, Ginger Orange and Cherry Menthol. Airwaves continue to expand its presence from Ireland in the west to China in the east.

Orbit Sugarfree Gum Makes "Fabulous" Debut in the U.S.
Already a top selling brand across Europe, Orbit’s launch in the U.S. was a huge success. The brand, which comes in five flavors and a tab format, has been the fastest growing brand of chewing gum over the past three years. Orbit’s great taste, fun flavors and slick packaging has made it a consumer favorite. Orbit advertising make consumers laugh as cheeky ads featuring Vanessa, Orbit’s British-accented spokesperson, demonstrated how Orbit keeps your mouth feeling clean and fabulous - in the worst of situations.

Fresh Breath in a Flash -- Eclipse Flash Strips

Building on the significant brand equity of the Eclipse name, Eclipse breath strips were introduced as a new kind of breath-freshening product. These micro-thin, dissolvable strips provide consumers with great tasting and portable breath freshening. In 2003, these high-impact breath fresheners were introduced to Europe.

Wrigley Diversifies Into New Confections in Europe

In 2003, Wrigley diversified its product portfolio into candies with the launch of Orbit Drops, a sugarfree dental candy in over a dozen countries including Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Russia and Slovenia. Building on the established success of Orbit sugarfree gum in Europe, these candies offer dental benefits in the form of a hard candy

Wrigley Acquires Boomer, Solano, Pim Pom and Trex Confections
In April 2004, Wrigley acquired four great new brands and production operations from a Spanish producer of confectionery products geared toward kids, teens and adults. This acquisition added great tasting, high quality bubble gums, hard candies and lollipops to Wrigley’s increasingly diversified confectionery portfolio and expands Wrigley’s business in Spain, India and China.

Wrigley Adds Historic Brands
In June 2005, Wrigley added the Altoids, Life Savers, Creme Savers and Sugus brands to its expanding portfolio of confectionery products. This portfolio of confections, some more than a century old, indulge consumers in sweet, sour and minty flavors in a variety of formats. The acquisition adds some of the most well-known and well-loved brands to Wrigley’s chewing gum portfolio and strengthens the Company’s foundation in the global confectionery marketplace.