SWEET SUCCESS FOR

摘要

It sticks to your shoes, clothes and desks, and is the bane of every local authority and street cleaning service, but consumers can't get enough chewing gum. LAST year, Britons chewed their way through a massive ￡317 million worth of chewing gum, anincrease of some 38% on 2001 figures. And it's sugar-free gum that's really growing the market, having well and truly replaced regular gum, which now accounts for just 13% of sales, as the number one choice. At home, the trend is similar. According to ACNielsen, the overall R324-million gum category has experienced annual growth of +21,1% in value and +12,5% in volume. Sugar-free gum is growing ahead of the market average, and now accounts for nearly 72% of total gum sales, with robust annual value growth of over 40%, no doubt stimulated significantly by the smoking ban in most offices and other public arenas.