Professional Candy Buyer - November/December 2005
Special Report: Breath Fresheners, Breathing Fresh Life
Teresa Tarantino examines the innovations designed to add sales excitement in the breath freshener sector.

The Breath Freshener Sector has been the showplace for technological advances in recent years, adding excitement with breath strips, liquid mints an benefits including whitening and energy boosts.  As a result, the market has been flooded with new items, with both large multinationals and small start-ups competing for a share of consumer spending.

Innovative products have entered the sector and generated a lot of noice and trial among consumers, confirms Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.’s Chris Perille, senior director of corporate communications.  He specifically cites breath strips and beads, but is quick to add: “These innovations have not been long-term sustainable propositions with consumers.”

While the breath mint market has a lot of suppliers, Perille says the leading brands continue to drive the category.  He adds that Wrigley’s own brands – Altoids, Live Savers and Eclipse – continue to play leadership roles.  “The challenge is to deliver continuous relevance in products and messaging,” he says.

BDI Marketing/Candy Dynamics’ Laura King agrees, and claims that products with additional benefits on top of freshening breath are now refreshing the market.  King, vice-president of marketing, points to BDI’s energy strips, Arctic Blast and Cherry Bomb, both of which include ingredients for a boost of energy, which Arctic Blast also features caffeine.

Looking ahead, King says oral care products and nutraceutical breath fresheners will be popular, in addition to any products offering innovative packaging, including gum and mint combos.

“Sector growth is driven by innovation,” says Steve Yacht, director of sales and marketing for Big Sky Brands Inc.  “So long as there is an openness amongst buyers to support new brands and new product concepts, the sector has the potential to continue growing.”

Pointing to Big Sky’s Warp Green-T Energy Mints, he says: “Green tea is a fantastic new ingredient with tremendous healthful benefits.”

Diana Moore Eschhofen, brand and public relations manager for Spangler Candy Co., points to oral care as an area of focus.  “The whitening category continues to grow,” she says, adding: “According to IRI, consumers spend more than $1 billion on whitening products each year.”

In response, Spangler has introduced White by Smint, formulated with papaya extract, a natural tooth whitener.  The sugarfree mints are available in two flavors – Fresh Mint and strawberry.

Alan Webb, president of Webb Candy, Inc., says: “There is an ongoing consciousness to find products that are good for you.”

“Functionality seems to be stronger and is pushing the boundaries,” agrees a spokesperson from Ferrero USA, Inc.

However, Anthony Shurman, president of Yosha! Enterprises, says consumer fascination is fading because of a lack of truly different products.  “Consumers generally try a number of gum and mint brands in any 30-day period,” he says, and notes little has been done to bring variety into mints with the exception of liquid items.

Shurman says the breath mint market is leveling out as a lot of the efforts from major manufacturers are being concentrated on chewing gum.

He adds that although the overall segment is in decline certain items are still seeing growth, including liquid capsules.

He and other sector sources say sales of breath strips have declined greatly and the segment is shaking out to focus on select major brands.

“However,” Shurman says, “the old category drivers of pack innovation, flavor intensity and building a brand cache can still impact the health of a market sector.

“The problem is that few companies are currently investing in innovation,” he laments.  “Products that have a unique brand name and innovative packaging can carve out a meaningful niche for themselves,” he claims.

He goes on to say another major issue with the flat sector is that suppliers have gotten greedy and want to charge premiums in line with what Altoids had done in breaking the $1 price point.  Interestingly, Shurman argues that is consumers knew how little it costs to make some mints, they would not be willing to pay the price.

Therefore, he stresses: “As gas prices increase and disposable income takes a hit, it becomes increasingly important to deliver great-tasting, mainstream-priced brands that consumers can relate to.  Over the long run, consumers vote for the right value equation and the slew of premium mints are all suffering as a result.

Other sector sources confirm new product introductions always provide growth but question how sustainable the growth is.  One notes that it’s too early to tell where the base sales level will end up on liquid mints, with new flavors tending to do well for six to eight months.

Many suppliers report the sector is getting a lift from flavor options.  Wrigley’s Perille says while intense flavors continue to interest consumers, the company is also offering milder, pleasing varieties.  Expanding one of its iconic brands into the breath mints market, Wrigley will debut Doublemint Twins Mints in January, he reveals.

Perille says Altoids and Life Savers add a significant boost to Wrigley’s mint portfolio.  “These brands have had challenging trends, and our intention is to grow them and the category with solid marketing and innovation,” he tells Professional Candy Buyer.

“Along with Eclipse and our new Doublemint Twins business, we feel we can help our retail partners by returning the mint segment to a path of long-term growth,” he states.

Flavors Move Beyond Mint
Suggesting a different flavor trend, Big Sky’s Yacht says sour is a force to be reckoned with.  “I don’t know why breath freshener always has to mean peppermint, wintergreen or cinnamon,” he smiles.

Shurman adds flavor intensity, sour fruit flavors and exotic flavor cocktails, which reflect the changing palette in the U.S., will impact the sector. 

Lending ammunition to the sour idea, Arnaud Gadaix, brand marketing manager for gum and mint brands at The Hershey Co. says: “Ice Breakers Sours are an example of one of our most recent successes.”

He says he doesn’t see the market becoming saturated and Hershey has a host of new products slated to hit the sector in 2006 including BreathSavers 3Hrs, Ice Breakers Center Ice, the first candy-coated liquid capsule, and Ice Breakers Ice Cubes.

Consolidation will happen, Gadaix says, adding: “Items will be discontinued, and manufacturers will need to continue to innovate and follow consumer trends.”

Webb says it’s easier to jump on flavor trends when you offer liquid center mints.  “Changing flavors is simple with liquid mints so it’s simple to broaden your appeal with new flavors,” he says.

Meanwhile, Yacht notes super intense “power mints” are clearly still viable as a long-term sub-sector.

And banking on that, Ferrero is launching Tic Tac Bold, targeting a younger audience in new shaped, colored containers, the mints are available in mint and fruit flavors.

Planning to spend some $20 million supporting its Tic Tac brands in 2006, Ferrero has committed nearly $5 million in TV ads as part of the Bold launch.

Breath fresheners are an impulse item, so maximizing sales potential goes back to sound category management and space allocation.  Sources all agree the presentation needs to be clean and visible at the front end, and it needs to offer consumers choices.

Merchandizing the sector is very effective because of the low price point, sources add.

While breath fresheners traditionally are placed at the front end, King advises that even pack footprints can have significant effect on sector profitability.

Check The Pack Sizes
Shurman agrees there are opportunities within the valuable cash register real estate that can make a huge difference for retailers, and Yacht adds he has seen a reduction in pack sizes to offer better profit per linear inch.

In fact, Shurman admits Yosha! Recently improved the graphics on Momints to be more visually arresting and moved to smaller packs to reduce the shelf space and increase profits per inch.  The redesign also allowed for a 99-cent SRP.  “Accompanying the new format is a full range of display options applicable across all classes of trade,” he explains.

Wrigley’s Perille tells Professional Candy Buyer retailers get the greatest benefit from simple, high-impact merchandising of top sellers.  “Innovation drives value and long-term profitability for our retailer,” he says, adding: “not temporary price reductions.”

Gadaix additionally points out displays next to coffee stations, or breakfast/food stations work particularly well.  “Purchase is impulse driven so placement next to the cashier is key,” he says.

Reinforcing the importance of good merchandising in maximizing sales, he adds that since today’s breath fresheners are more potent, consumers are having to purchase fewer to meet their needs.