In 1892, William Wrigley, Jr. began placing a package of chewing gum inside a can of baking powder. Soon, the gum became more popular than the baking powder. Wrigley reorganized the factory to make it produce more gum than baking powder.
In 1921, Wrigley also became the owner of the Chicago Cubs.
Originally made from chicle from South America, the company stopped purchasing chicle from Guatemala and now uses synthetic rubber, which is significantly cheaper.
In 1974, a supermarket in Ohio became the first company to add a UPC bar code reader. The first product sold using a UPC was a pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum. In 1984, the company was the first to introduce a sugar-free gum, Extra.
Today, the company sells its products in more than 180 countries, with production facilities in 14 countries. Mars, Inc., one of the largest candy-making companies in the world, acquired Wrigley in 2008.
Wrigley’s annual revenue in 2007 was $5.389 billion.
The corporate office for Wrigley is located in Chicago, Illinois.
