Skittles Bubble Gum (History, Marketing & Commercials)

Skittles is one of those candy products that nearly everyone has tried at least once. This is the perfect candy for those who love fruity and chewy candies, and Skittles has been the most famous fruity candy in many markets for a long time. It seems like a gum product based upon this very popular candy would have been the gift that kept on giving.

However, Skittles Bubble Gum was not fated to have a long lifespan, and many people were not even aware that there ever was a Skittles Bubble Gum product. Perhaps if Skittles had tried to make a gum product from the well-known brand back when colorful and fruit-flavored gum was all the rage in the 90s, it would have been a bigger hit. These kinds of gum are less popular now than they were in the 80s and 90s, and that could be the reason that you cannot buy Skittles Bubble Gum anymore today.

History

Skittles have been on the market since 1974. They are made with fruit juice and come in a variety of fruity flavors, all combined in each sleeve or box of the little treats. There are different varieties of Skittles as well, including sour varieties, tropical flavor packs, and berry-specific packs. Skittles is one of the primary offerings that is given to kids on Halloween, and many people love to bring a bag of Skittles along on road trips since snacking on this candy treat is so easy.

Skittles were first made in England in 1974, but they came to North America in 1979 as an imported confectionery item. By the early 1980s, Skittles were being manufactured in the US and were an instant, runaway favorite with people of all ages. The well-known slogan, “Taste the Rainbow,” was created by a New York ad agency and has been closely connected with the product in people’s minds in most markets ever since.

Considering the success of the various varieties of the regular Skittles product, it would seem like a gum product with Skittles at its foundation would be a big hit. Perhaps one of the root problems that led to the lack of success of the gum product line is that Skittles have long been accused of offering entire packs of the same skittles with different-colored candy shells on them.

This has been roundly denied by the Mars company, but the fact remains that many people do not feel there is much difference in the taste between different colored Skittles inside each bag. Perhaps the gum product was too generic and uniform in its flavoring, and this was part of why it didn’t catch on.

Skittles Bubble Gum was first offered for sale in 2004. The product was sold in a flip-top style box or container. The slogan, “Inflate the Rainbow,” was used to promote the product. Those who bought this gum product were surprised by how much it looked like the original candy product. People who were fans also reported that the gum held its flavor, even after being chewed for some time. For those who love Skittles, having the exact same flavor in the gum products was a big plus. For those who love gum that is not so sweet and fruity, it was probably not a benefit.

Skittles noted the flagging sales of their new gum product, Skittles Bubble Gum and released a limited edition version of the gum in 2006, which was called X-treme Fruit. The flavors were intended to be stronger and more differentiated than in the original gum product. This did not make a material difference in the sales of the gum product, however, and by 2010, the product could no longer be sourced anywhere, not even through online sellers. Some of the candy companies who continued to sell Skittles Bubble Gum after the company quit placing it on the shelves of stores still have their listings up on their site, as if they are hoping that the product will become available again.

Skittles has moved on to other campaigns to help promote its products, and they have made some major changes to its recipe, which include going vegan. Removing the animal product-based gelatin from the ingredients list of all of their products has been a big hit with many people and has helped the brand to stay relevant. Promotional efforts linking the candies to football player Marshawn Lynch were also a big benefit to the company, and his enthusiasm for the candies led to a profitable marketing deal that kept the candy in the public eye like never before for quite a few years.

There has been word from Mars that they are thinking about making another attempt at a Skittles-based bubble gum product. Gum sales have changed a lot since the 90s and early 2000s, and most people only chew gum to freshen their breath these days. This means that fruity gum products are on the decline and have been overtaken in sales by gums that are more practical and mintier in nature. It is rare to see any kind of fruity gum being advertised by candy companies these days since the market is not interested in these products like they used to be.

While it seems like a bubble gum product that offers all the goodness of Skittles and all the perks of a bubble gum would be a big hit, this simply did not prove to be true. If you loved Skittles Bubble Gum, you will likely have to satisfy your craving for fruit-flavored bubble gum with a pack of Fruit Stripe Gum instead.

Livery:

The Skittles Bubble Gum product was sold in a rectangular container that looked a lot like the Skittle packs that everyone is so familiar with buying at the store. The word “fruit” hovered in cursive above the standard Skittles logo, and the top left corner of the product container proclaimed that this gum product was “new!”. The right side of the container, where the flip top connected to the body of the dispenser, was slightly shiny and showed swirls of bright color. On top of the shiny and swirly part of the flip top were the words “bubble gum” in light blue lettering. 

The appearance of the X-treme Fruit containers was slightly different, having a black background rather than the standard red background of Skittles packs. The same logo styling was used to declare that the product was the “x-treme Fruit” version of the gum, and the same swirly and shiny material was used for the flip-top end cap of the little container that was on the right side. The word “bubble gum” is darker blue on these containers so that it will stand out from the black background.

It is possible that this packaging was part of what went wrong with the Skittles Bubble Gum products. While cleverly designed and appealing to look at, gum products are almost always sold in soft-sided packs, and most gum companies no longer make hard, chewy gums that are sold in small bits inside a plastic container. The difficulties of storage of these kinds of gum products are well-known to anyone who has tried to carry around this kind of gum product in a purse or a small bag.

Additionally, kids are not allowed to carry backpacks from class to class anymore due to safety issues, which means that one huge segment of the gum-loving population is not going to be able to enjoy taking this fun container to school and sharing gum with everyone in class. This was probably as big a contribution to the downfall of this gum as anything else, but there probably wasn’t a good secondary solution to protect the gum from being squished or losing its shape while being carried around.

Another possible reason that this kind of packaging wasn’t a big hit was likely because the end cap and the box could get separated from each other, causing the gum to want to spill out into your bag or backpack. Many of the other versions of this kind of carrying solution are made of plastic, which is likely to help avoid this issue.

Logo

Ingredients

From an online listing at Innit for Skittles Bubble Gum:

• Phenylketonics: Contains Phenylalanine 
• Sugar 
• Dextrose 
• Gum Base 
• Corn Syrup 
• Citric Acid 
• Less than 2% – Artificial and Natural Flavors 
• Glycerin 
• Malic Acid 
• Aspartame 
• Acesulfame Potassium 
• Dextrin
• Confectioner Glaze 
• Carnauba Wax

The ingredient list for the gum product is very similar to the gum ingredient list. This is likely because the gum product was very similar to the original candy product. The same slightly hard shell is preserved in the bubble gum products as in the candies, making for one of the more unique and slightly odd aspects of chewing this bubble gum product.

There are more color ingredients listed for the original candy products than for the gum products. There might have been color ingredient alterations between the two different gum products as well.

Nutrition

Serving Size:	1 Serving (100g)	% Daily Value *
Amount Per Serving:
Calories	10
Calories from Fat	0	0%
Total Fat	0g
Sodium	0mg	0%
Carbohydrates	2g
Net carbs	2g
Fiber	0g	0%
Glucose	2g
Protein	0g
Vitamin A	0μg	0%
Vitamin C	0mg	0%
Calcium	0mg	0%
Iron	0mg	0%

• The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs.

Pictures

Commercials

A silly ad for Skittles Bubble Gum:

Another very silly commercial: