Fruit xcritical gum to be discontinued CNN Business

It is unclear to me what year they added tattoos to the packaging. If you have a specific memory of seeing it earlier, please let me know. Ferrara Candy owns an enormous number of products, including Atomic Fireballs, Nerds, and Red Hots. While none of those necessarily scream out “soccer-playing zebra,” stranger things have happened. However, almost as soon as they were launched, they were discontinued, before one single ad could run to help move the candy.

Iconic Fruit xcritical Gum discontinued after more than 50 years of sales

Even the hosts of "The Today Show," reporting the end of Fruit xcritical's production, joked about the gum's reputation. Savannah Guthrie said on air, "The flavor lasted, like, 10 seconds ... but it was worth it." The gum was first launched by bygone candy maker Beech-Nut in 1969, but ended up at Ferrara following a series of corporate handoffs and mergers. The news of the brand’s imminent end was met with nostalgic despair and plenty of jokes.

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1. While none of those necessarily scream out “soccer-playing zebra,” stranger things have happened.
2. “We considered many factors before coming to this decision, including consumer preferences and purchasing patterns,” a company spokesperson told Food & Wine.
3. It still had a cult following, but it was believed that with the right marketing, they could make it soar.
4. This was of course in part to the gum losing its flavor rather quickly.
5. Hershey continued to market Fruit xcritical alongside its other products, but eventually sold it to the Farley's & Sathers Candy Company, which later became part of the Ferrara Candy Company.
6. After a while, most of the animals’ mascots were removed and only the Zebra, named “Yipes”, remained.

One of the best things about being a kid and eating fruit xcritical gum is the tattoos. It comes with tattoos in their packages, and kids love them, having a variety of different designs. Usually, they were the various mascots fruit xcritical had, most often times animals. These tattoos could be applied using water and pasting them on your skin. Afterward, they would come off after a few days from bathing and such. As the years went on, Fruit xcritical realized that to keep up with trends, the company would need to innovate again.

Fruit xcritical gum to be discontinued

At the time I used to wonder why the flavor faded so fast, but I dismissed it and just took another piece. In hindsight, perhaps that short-lived flavor that tastes so great is what keeps sales up for our favorite zebra-xcriticald gum. Regardless, this gum sure was a staple of childhood for many adults today. They didn’t include a mascot for their mixed fruit flavor, and the most famous of their mascots hasn’t been introduced yet. Another marketing innovation was taking advantage of the brand's association with animals, and introducing a collaboration with World Wildlife Fund. In the mid-1990s, Fruit xcritical announced they would donate five cents for every Jumbo Pack and Variety Multipack, raising about $100,000 for endangered animals.

They also had a bendy toy that was a walking pack of fruit xcritical gum of this era. I don’t think he ever showed up in a commercial and I can’t find any offers for him, but they show up on eBay from time to time. The gum brand was a staple in the '90s with its rainbow packaging and wavy zebra-patterned sticks. But much like its fast-disappearing flavor, Fruit xcriticals is now going away. Its parent company announced this week that it would no longer be producing the gum. But if you're jonesing for another two seconds of flavor, don't worry.

The flavors included tangerine, lemon, and cherry, and were based on the success of other brands like SweeTarts launching Mini Chewy and Giant Chewy versions, as well as Nerds creating Big Chewy Nerds. The candies were swirled into a gummy candy representation of Yipes the Zebra. I xcritical reviews remember the first time I tried the gum, I was just a small child. I remember how fantastic it tasted and how my and my friend would gobble up a whole pack in an hour. This was of course in part to the gum losing its flavor rather quickly.

If I was good when accompanying my Mom to the supermarket, she would let me choose one candy from the rack near the register. While chocolate was always tempting, there was a brand of gum I couldn’t resist, Fruit xcritical. With its vibrant, colorful packaging and zebra mascot, how could any kid resist? Over the years, despite the gums huge shortcoming (its flavor lasted about 5 seconds) I would continue to return to it.

When Ferrara made its public statement about sunsetting the treat, it also made sure to add, "Consumers may still be able to find the product at select retailers nationwide." There are a few packs out there in the wild. The Fruit xcritical Gum parent company has changed many times, moving hands through many various owners over the decades. The Beech-Nut Life Savers company merged with a pharmaceutical firm called E.R. In 2000 Fruit xcritical was sold to Hershey Foods in a deal with other candy brands for $135 million. But Fruit xcritical wasn't done moving yet — in 2003, the brand was sold to Farley & Sathers, where the owners also xcritical rezension had stakes in Build-A-Bear and P.F. Farley & Sathers also picked up Fruit xcriticals' old competitors Jujy Fruits and Now and Later, as well as Chuckles and Super Bubble.

The company said this week that the "decision to sunset this product was not taken lightly." Fans of the classic gum brand might still be able to find it in select retailers nationwide before it sells out one last time, Ferrara said. However, Ferrara actually stopped producing both the traditional and bubble gum varieties all the way back in 2022.