New gums for better oral care

The American consumer products group Procter & Gamble Company and the US chewing gum company William Wrigley Jr. Company announced on August 7 an agreement to bring innovative chewing gums with dental benefits to the world's consumers. The agreement will combine Wrigley's worldwide distribution, consumer research and retail marketing prowess and P&G's oral care research and development capabilities. Company officials said consumers have been looking for better choices in "portable oral care."​ Gum is an excellent vehicle for this, because it allows time for some dental agents to work and is pleasurable as well as convenient. The global gum, mint, and breath freshener market is large, with multi-billion dollar sales, larger than the toothpaste category and equal in size to other major consumer goods categories. According to the companies, the alliance would offer both increased distribution points through Wrigley's access to checkout aisles, convenience stores, and gas stations and P&G's access to oral care shelves and dentist offices. Under the terms of the agreement, the Wrigley Company will license from P&G​ various trademarks and oral care technologies, using them to develop, distribute, and market confectionery products with oral care benefits around the world. Royalties and others terms were not disclosed. The companies claim that new Wrigley​ products with P&G technology could be introduced within a year.