Abstract

For most enterprises, new products are pivotal for sustainable growth. Wrigley Corporation launched Juicy Fruit in India. This move is in line with the company’s goal to reinforce its product range within India and increase its presence in the chewing gum business sector. This paper highlights the marketing strategy, the design and innovation Wrigley Corporation put in place in order to infiltrate the Indian market. The analysis of Indian consumer trends influenced the manner in which the Wrigley Company introduced Juicy Fruit in India. For instance, before launching Juicy Fruit, Wrigley Confectionery positioned its brand based on Indian consumers’ dental and enjoyment needs. Wrigley took advantage of India's growing investments in the chewing gum industry sector to promote and launch its Juicy Fruit product. Juicy Fruit came in various brands thus capturing a larger market. The incorporation of a skilled workforce, brand position to fit the consumer needs of different people.

Introduction

 The launch of Juicy Fruit was a major step in Wrigley’s India journey and demonstrated the firm’s commitment to increasing its market share in that particular region. Wrigley Corporation had previously made substantial inroads in India’s chewing gum industry. In the previous years, Wrigley had already launched Skittles and Candy hence the Indian market was familiar with its line of products. It is vital to note that Juicy Fruit gum was locally designed and priced to meet the consumer needs of the Indian market (Wilner, and Ghassan, 2017, p173). This way, the company was able to connect marketing innovation and market performance. According to Phillip Kotler, marketing is the discipline and skill of discovering, generating, and delivering value in order to satisfy consumer desires and make a profit in the process of doing so. Besides, the author claimed that marketing innovation is the application of new marketing mechanisms including significant alterations in terms of product design, branding, item placement, advertisement, and even pricing. In context, of the two terms defined above, market performance is the outcome of the policies mentioned above- the association of retailing value to expenses, the output volume, and production effectiveness, advanced technologies among other issues.

Wrigley’s Background

 Wrigley began its business operations in 1891. The company is situated in Chicago Illinois. Wrigley’s is registered under Mars Corporation implying-Mars Corporation owns all of Wrigley’s commercial products. Initially, the company was known for manufacturing and selling cleaning soaps and baking powder (East et al., 2016, p203). Later, it packaged its soap and baking powder with chewing gum. Over the years, the chewing gum becomes more popular than the soaps and baking powder forcing the company to change tactics and venture fully into selling chewing gums. Mars Corporation acquired the company in 2008. Wrigley's chewing gum is one of the most famous chewing gums in the world and its sales are sometimes compared to food brands.

Objective

 The objective of this research is to explore the Juicy Fruit’s marketing innovation and then link it to market performance in the Indian chewing gum market. In the process of examining these underlying factors, the paper will explore consumer trends that might have motivated the investors to launch Juicy fruit. Also, carrying out a market performance assessment of the Juicy Fruit will be the key area of the study and key in the determination of the conclusions.

Part A

Changing Consumer Behavior

Consumer Trends

Wrigley’s Launched Juicy Fruit in India In 2019

Increased Chewing Gum Sales

Even though Wrigley’s had experienced dismal growth in the sales of some of its products, the company’s chewing gum sales increased yearly. It is vital to note that the company did not have a chocolate product, the non-chocolate sector grew by 16% which in turn signaled the shift from chocolate products to chewing gum. Hence, indicating the need to quickly fill in the chewing gum gap and by doing so, meet the needs of the consumers (Creţu, and Mihai, 2018, p41). The market growth revealed that India’s chewing gum industry is still at its infancy stage and needed a brand name that would influence the range of products being sold within the chewing gum niche. Therefore, the company had to take advantage of the opportunity and introduce a product tailored to fit the market needs of the target market. As stated earlier, India's chewing gum market is not yet fully developed hence the penetration is minimal. Increased investment only meant that the consumer base is growing. The main objective of Wrigley is to trigger market growth and the only way to grow the market is by increasing consumption and penetration. The chart above clearly demonstrated the steady growth in India’s chewing gum industry hence forcing the introduction of a locally produced Juicy Fruit.

The Increasing Demand for Useful Chewing Gum

 Before one can produce a product, one needs to ask himself, the role the product will play in the lives of the people. Indians use chewing gum for freshening the mouth. The role of the product creates relevance which then drives the demand and the need for the product in people’s lives. Juicy fruit would target smokers, people suffering from halitosis, and other types of consumer groups. Employees normally purchase chewing gum in bulk and store them in desks in order to refresh their breath now and then (Kalra, and Soberman, 2010, p301). Case studies show that 60% of Indians use chewing gum for mouth freshening purposes hence Juicy fruit would come in various variants which would help Indians meet this need. In other words, the function of chewing gum helps in strengthening the teeth and solve mouth odor problems hence pushing sakes up.

Sugar-Free Chewing Gums Triggering the General Market Expansion of the Entire Chewing Industry

 Sugar-free chewing gum is a growing trend. Instead of just taking advantage of sugar-free chewing gum, the company saw it fit to produce both sugarless and flavored chewing gums. India remains one of the most populous nations around the world and providing a variety of chewing gums may help in growing the market and pushing up sales. Markets thrive on options given to consumers (East et al., 2008, p280). If a consumer has more than one option, he or she is likely to try both a sugar-free option and a flavored chewing gum. More so, Juicy Fruit would come in various products in an attempt to capture the market needs at once. The per capita consumption for Indians is six balls per individual annually. This signifies increased frequency and promising growth in the near future.

The Need for an International Product with Local Characteristics

 The item was locally designed to fit the daily needs of Indians and was then affordably priced (Narwal, and Kumar, 2011, p113). The Juicy Fruit was manufactured from the Wrigley Confectionery’s India factory hence was able to remain relevant and blend with the changing environment.

Stiff Competition

 The chewing gum market niche is extremely crowded with well-known corporations taking 60% of the profit returns. Competition forces the companies to think out the box consequently driving innovation. The open and competitive environment forced the market players to change tactics and adopt more effective manufacturing techniques which led to innovative and upgraded chewing gums. In this particular case, the Wrigley brand had to launch a Juicy Fruit as a way of leveling the competitive playing field and gaining momentum (Fernie et al., 2015, p121). Subsequently, competition influences water and energy. Demand and accessibility to these resources affect pricing which may end up impacting marketing and quality of the final product. Juicy Fruit combined raw materials effectively intending to maximize available resources. An innovative way of capturing market needs

Increment in Market Expenditure

 The reinvention of the chewing gum industry swayed investors to invest more in the marketing sector. Wrigley's Juicy Fruit targeted a younger consumer base. Through television advertisements, social medical platforms, and entertainment magazines, the company portrayed the chewing gum as a fun and bubbly product (Verganti, 2008, p436). By reinvesting branding and increasing expenditure in media promotion, Wrigley assisted in making Juicy Fruit a visible brand. Marketing changes perspective and consciously forced people to accept the Juicy Fruit brand as soon as it was launched in India. According to marketing reports, most people enjoy chewing gum but hardly prioritize buying it from shopping stalls. Branding would help to prioritize chewing gum as a necessity. Juicy Fruit increased Wrigley sales from 10% to 12% within a three month period partly due to marketing and innovative ways of branding the flavors. In terms of taste, the company decided to produce more sour taste Juicy Fruit flavors in order to capture 25 years old consumer market. Sour flavored chewing gum was more popular among the older consumers and Wrigley made use of marketing campaigns to portray Juicy Fruit as a pack of chewing gum with many flavors hence attracting attention from various consumers. For instance, the strawberry flavor had 5 pallet gums while sour apple flavor had one extra pallet gum hence making Juicy Fruit stand out as a brand. Also combining sweet and sour flavors appealed to a wider target market and appealed more to consumer needs.

  According to technology trajectory and escalator reports, Wrigley had concentrated heavily on chewing gum’s dental benefits hence missing out on the younger population market. Functional chewing should be partly dwelled on as it does not attract larger profit margins as compared to serving the younger populations which consist mostly of impulsive buyers (Bucolo, and Matthews, 2011, p137). Thus, the company invested in both functional chewing gums and fun category chewing gums.

Part B

Juicy Fruit’s Ingredients

Sugar, gum content, stevia, natural syrup, mannitol, natural flavors, 2% Glycerol, and lecithin. The chart below illustrated the content of Juicy Fruit chewing gum. In current society, everyone is conscious of their health. It is vital to note that the ingredients are natural and have no wheat or gluten content. Juicy Fruit is sugar-free and capitalizes on natural ingredients. There is no way one can gain weight from chewing Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit. Sodium and proteins are absent in Juicy Fruit content. The ingredients are in line with functional chewing gum trends (Hobday, Boddington, and Grantham, 2011, p16). Functional chewing gums concentrate on offering consumer sugar-free content to preserve dental health and preserve fresh breath.  Juicy Fruit chewing gum comes in tablet form and is manufactured from natural saps such as synthetic lecithin.

 Chewing gum rich in sugar may increases vulnerability to tooth disease. On the other hand, sugar-free chewing gums strengthen teeth and keeps diseases at bay.

 According to Juicy Fruit’s marketing design and innovation, Juicy Fruit had to attract both the younger consumers and the older generation. The younger consumers had a sweet tooth and the older generation was interested in freshening their breath and strengthening their teeth through chewing. The combination of sour a sugar-free chewing gums appealed to a wider market (Belz, and Peattie, 2009, p217). In terms of marketing design, the Juicy Fruit was portrayed as a refreshing and energized chewing gum. After researching in India, the company confirmed that the gum contained natural sweetness and significantly reduced bad mouth odor. Juicy Fruit helped in reducing stress because its taste influenced mood. The brand positioning centered on no particular group hence the investment attracted anyone who cared about dental health and simple pleasures. Juicy Fruit came in a variety of flavors which reliably upheld their objective to strengthen and preserve teeth. With a piece of Juicy Fruit chewing gum, a consumer could easily enjoy good taste and mouth freshness. Juicy Fruit is the most suitable solution for providing mouth freshness. Besides, holistic marketing ideas took into account all the Indian issues that the product might have faced. This helped in filling the trend gaps and draw out the strategic curve in terms of defining Indian organizational heritage. For instance, Indians working class can afford to buy a chewing gum for enjoyment even though they will not make it a routine to stick with the same brand. This tacit knowledge informed on the company’s decision making.

Short Narrative

Strategically producing Juicy Fruit chewing gums in variants such as chicle, sour-flavored and sugarcoated captured a wider market share. In return, an increased market share allowed the company to steadily grow and maintain its share in the Indian market. Usually going against consumers trends set a company against the dynamic capabilities of the market share. The role of aligning company objectives with consumer trends is to develop engineer the chewing gum based on familiar consumer preferences.

 Table

Consumer trends	Ingredient and properties	How it fulfills the trend
Increased demand for functional/useful chewing gum	Gum content, mannitol	Juicy Fruit comes sugarless flavors hence supplying the already high demand.
Functional/ sugarless chewing gum causing expansion of the chewing gum industrial sector	More people consuming sour flavored chewing gum. Stevia is a natural sugar	Increased production of sugarless chewing gums and diversification of other flavors.
The need for an international product with local characteristics	Mannitol is a sugar alcohol derived from local berries hence increasing credibility among the locals	Designing the chewing gum to look bubbly and fun in order to capture the youthful generation and secondarily influence other generations.
Stiff competition	Use of quality ingredients such as natural syrup and mannitol.	Producing quality and affordable chewing gum.  Increased marketing and promotion

 

Environmental Concerns Arising From Juicy Fruit Production

 Chewing gum can be used anywhere. Whether it is being used as a mouth freshener or on the park, chewing gums are poorly disposed of. Against this information, Juicy fruit worked in conjunction with other companies to kick off cleanliness awareness campaigns and then placed littering bins at different town centers to reduce chewing gum littering menace (Sarli, and Tat, 2011, p9). Gathering and then correctly disposing of chewing gums and packages helped in reducing environmental pollution within India.

Part C

Extensive Assessment

Wrigley Confectionary Juicy Fruit’s Indian-Asian branch experienced 60% growth in revenue since 2013. This translates to 3% growth per year. India is an emerging market consequently the remaining 40% of the market only accounts for 10% of Juicy Fruit sales each year. The quick paced growth within the emerging market is attributed to higher population growth rate, embrace of functional chewing gums and higher purchasing power especially among the youth. After the launch, the sales were also attributed to marketing and innovation. In the Indian chewing gum market, all Wrigley Confectionary sectors are tremendously growing at a rate of 30% from 2012 to 2015. The shifting opinions of Indian consumers is the key underlying reason for the growth.

  As per 2002 reports, Wrigley experienced an upsurge in sales which prompted them to expand their chewing gum business to other developing economies.  In 2019, the consolidated Indian or Asian sales increased to $153,161 which represents 15% growth. The reasons for analyzing Indian sales under the Asian category are to avoid distortion of the results and acquire a more holistic figure. Apart from the foreign currency conversion impact, the sale rates went up by 14%. Higher international delivery from India pushed up sales by 8%. Higher expenditure induced by international product mixture help in combining value and at the same time address consumer needs and trends holistically. Juicy Fruit was launched immediately Mars Corporation merged with Wrigley’s hence the rebranding gave Juicy Fruit an advantage in terms of market design (Verganti, 2008, p436). The marketing design was simple yet practical and this explains why the sales went up. The consolidated profit margins were $1,596,103 and increment from the previous years. The combined profit margin was 58.1% in 2019 hence declined by 0.4 %.

 In terms of general expenditure sales, the pricing was affordable and the fruity taste won the hearts of many Indians who then became loyal customers. As seen below, Wrigley made dynamic moves and increased both Juicy Fruit sales and those of its shareholders 24%. This implies that Wrigley's market performance and strategic management worked tremendously well to the point that the shareholders were able to cut a profit for themselves from the sales. In the end, this caused the sustainable growth of the Juicy Fruit product. The long term and short term impact of Juicy Fruit were analyzed at hand before launching the product hence all the risks were fully managed and no eventuality occurred during the entire Juicy Fruit production period in Indian borders. This way, brand loyalty made it easier for the company to make a profit and even widen the profit margins even after launching in a foreign nation. With the impact of sale promotion and discounted deals, consumers bought the product out of loyalty for Wrigley's instead of opting for cheaper products. Subsequently, expanding the key business activities was the priority and this was one of the reasons why Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit enjoyed robust growth in terms of transportation and retail sales annually. The consumers and retail feedback were equally beneficial in the modification into innovative sectors such as Juicy Fruit mint and menthol variants. Divert adds value and also increases the consumer range of the company portfolio. Diversity contributed to Juicy Fruit’s success in the Indian market. Combining these success factors produced an estimated 16% of the volume gain yearly. The rest of the volume was acquired through the strategic acquisition of Indian chewing gum brands. Business mechanisms and frameworks assisting order acquisition, transportation, and pricing were fulling incorporated in an effective 5 day period after the closure without the disruption of the entire supplies system. Production innovation measures commenced immediately hence coinciding with the manufacture of the chewing gum.

Part D

Recent sales performance product data

Juicy Fruit retailed at Rs 5 in India after the launch. In 2019, the year of its launch, the company registered 16% sales of the Juicy Fruit chewing gum. The chewing gum had a local taste with an international image. The consumption of the product was translated to 195 Juicy Fruit per month. In the past five years Wrigley confectionary invested 150 million in the Indian market hence pointing to 200 million returns after investment and launching of the new product. In the first quarter the company was able to garner an estimated 100 million from Juicy Fruit sales.

Competitive advantage

  Time plays a crucial factor in shaping competitive advantage. Wrigley confectionary’s Juicy Fruit has been in the chewing gum industry for more than a century. Longevity breeds familiarity and trust manifests into purchase which in turn gives Juicy Fruit an edge over other competitors. Additionally, time has given the Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit the resources and creativity needed to capture a wider consumer market. For instance, Wrigley confectionary launched its Indian factories in 2003 hence giving it more time to recoup and learn the Indian chewing gum market before launching Juicy Fruit bubble gum in 2019. Unlike its Indian competitors who may be limited in terms of experience and marketing strategy, Wrigley confectionary can create a universal appealing. To bring its corporate image into perspective, the company has branches in more than 78 countries and has numerous products under its brand name.

Summary

In summary, Juicy Fruit was launched in India in 2019. This was not the first time Wrigley was setting foot in India. Previously, the company had made inroad with products under the same chewing gum niche. In an attempt to capitalize on consumer trends, Wrigley’s manufactured functional gums together with Juicy Fruit. Juicy Fruit was market designed to look fun and bubbly thus attracted the younger generation who impulsively buy items. Also, the marketers placed Juicy Fruit gums at the supermarket exit sections so that shoppers may pick them up without second-guessing their options. Making use of increased sales to introduce both sour and sugar-free chewing gum increased the consumer base and catapulted results. Taking advantage of increased sales and visibility within the chewing gum sector to market and then launch a chewing gum product was innovative and helped the product gain familiarity. Combining both sour and sweet flavors created a new consumer base who then tried purchasing sweet and sour flavors. The company defined its market share through consumer experience and visibility as it catered to a wider market base compared to other chewing gum companies which only isolated a certain population. Juicy Fruit was able to effectively penetrate the Indian market through designing the gum to suit local needs and price it according to local prices. Creating a new niche and accurately meeting the dental and enjoyment needs of the people ensured the market thrive.

 

 

 

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