Dive Brief:
- Mars Chocolate North America and Wrigley unveiled a number of new products Wednesday that are headed to retailers in the next few months, according to a news release.
- Many of these new products, including M&M'S Caramel Chocolate Candies and Orbit White chewing gum, will debut at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Show in Atlanta this week.
- "The driving force behind our innovation is consumer choice," Edward Taylor, vice president for U.S. sales and operations for Wrigley, said in a statement. "We dial into what consumers seek from our brands and implement our category-leading shopper insights to help our retail partners merchandise products to satisfy their shoppers' needs."
Dive Insight:
Mars and Wrigley attribute their R&D innovations to listening to consumers and meeting their demands for products, flavor varieties and packaging needs. But that's not all that comes into play here. Now that Mars fully owns Wrigley after acquiring the remaining stake from Berkshire Hathaway earlier this month, the two companies can combine their operations and innovation under one roof to inspire new product and packaging ideas across the conjoined portfolio.
This is one of the most valuable aspects of mergers and acquisitions, and one that's not always discussed. Combining portfolios and expanding revenue potential are always important following these deals. But the sharing of ideas — whether for products, packaging or more effective, efficient and safer operations — is also key to a successful merger. The two companies can leverage the expertise of one another to synthesize new initiatives that make the combined company more successful than the two on their own.
That said, many of the new products on this vast confectionery lineup are clear attempts to revive one ailing category in particular: chewing gum. Experts told Food Dive earlier this year that chewing gum was one category losing market share over the past few years.