What springs to your mind when the word Chewing Gum flashes? There are atleast half a dozen brands at a person’s disposal! Here's my favourite article that was written for our newsletter named the LOYOLITE. I just love it because it is just one article that shows how enthusiasm, energy and luck proves iportant to everyone's life. Its a true inspiration - The Wrigleys Story.
William Wrigley Jr. was just 29 when he set foot in Chicago from Philadelphia in 1891.He had just $32 in his pocket and unlimited enthusiasm and energy. His father was a soap manufacturer, and at the start of his new business in Chicago, Mr. Wrigley sold Wrigley’s Scouring Soap. As an extra incentive to merchants, Mr. Wrigley offered premiums. He knew his customers would be more likely to carry Wrigley’s soap if they received a little “something for nothing.” One of these premiums was baking powder. When baking powder proved to be more popular than soap, he switched to the baking powder business. Then in 1892, Mr. Wrigley got the idea of offering two packages of chewing gum with each can of baking powder. The offer was a massive success. Once again, the premium – the chewing gum seemed more promising than the product it was supposed to promote.
At that time, there were at least a dozen chewing gum companies in the US, but the industry was relatively undeveloped. Mr. Wrigley decided that chewing gum was the product with the potential he had been looking for.So he began marketing it under his own name. His first two brands were Lotta and Vassar. Juicy Fruit gum came next in 1893, and Wrigley’s Spearmint was introduced later that same year.
At that time, there were at least a dozen chewing gum companies in the US, but the industry was relatively undeveloped. Mr. Wrigley decided that chewing gum was the product with the potential he had been looking for.So he began marketing it under his own name. His first two brands were Lotta and Vassar. Juicy Fruit gum came next in 1893, and Wrigley’s Spearmint was introduced later that same year.
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Several times the young company was on the verge of going under, but hard work overcame the difficulties, and the business forged ahead. In the very early days, William Wrigley Jr. personally did much of the selling to the trade. He had a gift for seeing his customers’ point of view and accommodating himself to their needs. To go by Philip Kotler’s words, he identified that his job is not to find the right customer for his product but to find the right product for his customers.
He saw that consumer acceptance of Wrigley’s gum could be built faster by using innovative and catchy techniques of advertising. As the company continued to grow, it steadfastly applied this basic principle: “Even in a little thing like a stick of gum, quality is important.”
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