Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit: Managing Portfolio Growth Through Consumer Insights

Summary

Wrigley planned to target tweens for Juicy Fruit’s first innovation, which risked eroding sales of other brands in their portfolio. I used consumer insights to rethink the strategy—shifting focus to teens and redefining the brand’s relevance. The result: record-breaking sales growth, minimal cannibalization, and a stronger position within the broader gum and candy category.

Problem

As a gum category leader controlling 60% of the market, Wrigley had to carefully balance brand growth without cannibalizing its own portfolio.

Juicy Fruit was launching its first-ever product innovation, and the initial plan was to target tweens. This would cannibalize the lower-margin base Juicy Fruit product (deemed acceptable), but avoid infringing on Winterfresh, Wrigley’s primary teen gum brand.

But I wasn’t convinced this was the right strategy. Was targeting tweens really the best way to grow the brand?

Solution

Through a need-state analysis and consumer segmentation study, I immersed myself in the buying behaviors of teens and tweens across Wrigley’s portfolio. The research revealed:

  • Juicy Fruit was purchased solely for its sweetness, while Winterfresh was valued for breath-freshening—meaning they weren’t competing products.

  • Teens, not just tweens, represented a much larger opportunity—without the risk of excessive self-cannibalization.

  • A bolder, more provocative brand positioning could bring new relevance to Juicy Fruit and increase trial among all heavy gum chewers.

We convinced Wrigley to shift the product launch target from tweens to teens, avoiding cannibalization of the existing Juicy Fruit product and expanding the total addressable market.

Result

  • Largest one-year sales increase in Wrigley history – from -8% in 2003 to +52% in 2004.

  • Base brand cannibalization held to just 20%, well below the acceptable 40% threshold.

  • Winterfresh sales remained unaffected, proving the strategy successfully minimized internal competition.

  • The launch grew the gum category overall, taking share from non-gum competitors like Starburst and Skittles.

  • The advertising campaign won multiple industry awards, re-establishing Juicy Fruit as a relevant teen brand.

Takeaway

When managing a large brand portfolio, growth strategies must be backed by real consumer insights—not just assumptions. By rethinking the customer journey and repositioning Juicy Fruit, I helped turn a risky launch into a category-expanding success.