The William Wrigley Jr.

Company is a company headquartered in the GIC (Global Innovation

Center) in Goose Island, Chicago,Illinois.[1] The company was founded on April 1, 1891, originally
selling products such as soap and baking powder. In 1892, William Wrigley, Jr., the company's
founder, began packaging chewing gum with each can of baking powder. The chewing gum
eventually became more popular than the baking powder itself and Wrigley's reoriented the company
to produce the popular chewing gum.
The company currently sells its products in more than 180 countries and districts and maintains 140
factories in various countries and districts, including the United States, Mexico, Australia, the United
Kingdom, Canada, Spain, New Zealand, the Philippines, Czech Republic, Germany, South Africa,
Argentina, Tanzania, Tunisia, Somalia, North Korea (the only US enterprise there),[citation needed] France,
Kenya, China, India, Taiwan, Poland, and Russia.
In 2005, Wrigley purchased the Life Savers and Altoids businesses from Kraft Foods for US$1.5
billion.[2] On January 23, 2007, Wrigley signed a purchase agreement to acquire an 80 percent initial
interest in A. Korkunov for $300 million with the remaining 20 percent to be acquired over time. On
April 28, 2008, it was announced that Mars, Incorporated would acquire Wrigley for approximately
$23 billion.[3] Financing for the transaction was provided by Berkshire Hathaway, Goldman
Sachs and JPMorgan. Berkshire Hathaway holds a minority equity investment in the Wrigley
subsidiary.
The Wrigley Building on Michigan Avenue, one of Chicago's best-known landmarks on
the Magnificent Mile, belongs to the company but has not been its headquarters since 2005.
Contents
[hide]

1 Corporate leadership
o

1.1 18911932: William Wrigley Jr.

1.2 19321961: Philip K. Wrigley

1.3 19611999: William Wrigley III

1.4 19992006: William Wrigley, IV

1.5 20062008: William Perez

1.6 20082011: Dushan "Duke" Petrovich

1.7 2011: Martin Radvan

1.8 2014: Thomas Wrigley (Sevenoaks, Kent)

2 Subsidiaries

3 Changes in gum
o

3.1 New product

4 Brands

4.1 Gum

5 See also

6 References

7 External links

Corporate leadership[edit]
18911932: William Wrigley Jr.[edit]
In 1891, 29 year-old William Wrigley Jr. (18611932) came to Chicago from Philadelphia with $32
and the idea to start a business selling Wrigley's Scouring Soap. Wrigley offered premiums as an
incentive to buy his soap, such as baking powder. Later in his career, he switched to the baking
powder business, in which he began offering two packages of chewing gum for each purchase of a
can of baking powder. The popular premium, chewing gum, began to seem more promising.

19321961: Philip K. Wrigley[edit]

After the death of William Wrigley Jr., his son Philip K. Wrigley (18941977) assumed his father's
position as CEO of the Wrigley Company. Wrigley is most well known for his unusual move to
support US troops and protect the reputation of the Wrigley brand during World War II, in which he
dedicated the entire output of Wrigley's Spearmint, Doublemint, and Juicy Fruit to the US Armed
Forces. Wrigley launched the "Remember this Wrapper" ad campaign to keep the Wrigley brands on
the minds of the customers during times of wartime rationing. [2]

19611999: William Wrigley III[edit]

In 1961, Philip K. Wrigley handed control to his son, William Wrigley III (19331999). Wrigley led a
strategic global expansion through the establishment of Wrigley facilities in nine new countries. [2] On
June 26, 1974, a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio installed the first bar code scanning equipment.
The first product to be scanned using a Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code was a 10-pack of
Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum.[4] (This pack of gum is now on display at the Smithsonian
Institution's National Museum of American History.) During the late '70s and early '80s, Wrigley
began advertising a new gum, Extra, which followed the new trend of sugar-free gums in the US. [2]

19992006: William Wrigley, IV[edit]

William "Bill" Wrigley IV (1963), following the death of Wrigley III (his father), led the sugar-free gum
campaign across Europe, Australia, Spain, India, and China. [2] In 2005, Kraft Foods sold the Life
Savers and Altoids businesses to Wrigley in exchange for $1.5 billion as part of a reorganization
plan.[5] Wrigley led the establishment of the Wrigley Science Institute (WSI) in 2006 to study the oral
health benefits of gum chewing. The WSI investigates the effects of gum chewing on weight
management, stress relief, concentration, and oral health.[2]

20062008: William Perez[edit]

On October 23, 2006, William D. Perez (1948) succeeded Bill Wrigley as CEO. He was the first
person outside the Wrigley family to head the company. In 2007, the company debuted 5 Gum in the
US. The 5 Gum brand was marketed using cinematic TV commercials portraying "What it feels like
to chew 5 Gum". Perez led the efforts of improving slimmer packaging (Slim Pack) with flavor
improvements across both Extra and Wrigley brands.[2]

20082011: Dushan "Duke" Petrovich[edit]

Dushan Petrovich (1954) succeeded Perez. In 2009, Wrigley's Global Innovation Center received
the LEED Gold Certification through Wrigley's commitment to global sustainability. In the 2010
Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wrigley was the Official Confectionery Supplier of
the games, in which the company sported Olympic-themed packs and products. [2]

2011: Martin Radvan[edit]

Martin Radvan (19??) became the CEO of the Wrigley Company after Petrovich. He has over 25
years of experience at Mars. He is responsible for the companys worldwide strategy, operations and
business performance.[6]

2014: Thomas Wrigley (Sevenoaks, Kent)[edit]

Thomas Wrigley Jr.Inherited the family fund and as of 1 July 2014. Wrigley Jr becomes nonexecutive director of Wrigley's holdings worldwide.

Subsidiaries[edit]

The Wrigley Company Limited

Amurol Confections Company

Northwestern Flavors, LLC

Changes in gum[edit]
In some countries, xylitol is used to sweeten gum instead of aspartame. By avoiding sugar, the
chance of tooth decay is lowered, since the sugar otherwise used may turn into acid after chewing

the gum. It is also claimed that in chewing, it may help to remove food residues. Xylitol based
products are allowed by the US Food and Drug Administration to make the medical claim that they
do not promote dental cavities.[7]

New product[edit]
Wrigley temporarily halted production and sales of its new Alert energy gum as the Food and Drug
Administration investigates the safety of caffeinated-food products.[8]

Brands[edit]
Gum[edit]
United States

A newspaper ad from 1920 for three types of Wrigley's gum

Juicy Fruit (1893)

Spearmint (1893)

Doublemint (1914)

Freedent (1975)

Big Red (1975)

Extra (1984)

Winterfresh (1994)

Surpass (2001)

Orbit (reintroduced 2001)

Orbit White

Eclipse (2001)

5 (2007)

Alert (2013)

-Canada

Doublemint

Excel

Excel Mist

Excel White

Extra

Extra Professional

Extra Professional White

Hubba Bubba

Juicy Fruit

Life Savers

Skittles

Starburst

-The Wrigley Company Ltd., Estover, Plymouth, UK

Active8 (discontinued)

Airwaves

Big Red (discontinued in 1998)

Doublemint

Extra

Freedent (discontinued)

Juicy Fruit

Orbit

Orbit Professional

Orbit Complete

P.K

Wrigley's Spearmint

Fergie's juicy gum

-Additional products

Altoids

Big League Chew (until November 2010)

Bubble Tape

Cool Air

Eclipse

Excel

Hubba Bubba

Life Savers

Gummi Savers

Life Saver Minis

Life Saver Fusions

Creme Savers

Skittles

Skwinkles (Spicy)

Starburst

Sugus

Lockets

Tunes

See also[edit]
Chicago portal
Illinois portal
Companies portal

Wrigley Building

Wrigley FieldChicago

Wrigley FieldLos Angeles

Wrigley Institute for Environmental StudiesCatalina Island

Wrigley Rooftops

Wrigley Square

Wrigleyville

References[edit]
1.

Jump up^ "[1]" Wrigley Company. Retrieved on July 5, 2012.

2.

^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h "Heritage Timeline", Wrigley Company. Retrieved on September

25, 2012.

3.

Jump up^ Karnitschnig, Matthew; Berman, Dennis K. (27 April 2008). "Mars, Buffett
Team Up in Wrigley Bid". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-04-27.

4.
5.

6.

Jump up^ Bellis, Mary. "Bar Codes", Inventors, About.com Guide, 26 September 2012.
Jump up^ Warner, Melanie. "Kraft Foods Will Sell Altoids and Life Savers to
Wrigley", The New York Times, 16 November 2004. accessed 26 September 2012.
Jump up^ "Leadership", Wrigley Company, 26 September 2012.

7.

Jump up^ "US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21". US Food & Drug Administration,
Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved 8 November 2012.

8.

Jump up^ "WRIGLEY HALTS CAFFEINATED GUM". AP. Retrieved 9 May 2013.