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Dateline: All Candy Expo
THE tussle between gum, mints and breath-freshening strips has prompted more lead changes than the Indy 500, as new products aired at the National Confectioners Association's All Candy Expo in Chicago showed there are still many laps to go.
Listerine PocketPaks aren't flying off store shelves as they were a year ago, but 1.3% growth in drug, mass and grocery sales as of April 20, per Information Resources, isn't shabby in a niche crawling with imitators. To maintain its lead, the No. 1 breath strip is rolling a new Fresh Burst flavor and will ship a cinnamon extension by September. Pfizer has slated $80 million in ad support for the Listerine brand with half of that budget dedicated to PocketPaks.
Listerine shouldn't breathe easy, though. Toy maker Jakks Pacific, which jumped into strips in December with candy flavored Tongue Tape, is treading closer to Pocket Paks' turf with Tongue Trips. Packaging is less cartoonish and flavors like pina colada skew older. Jakks also beat Pfizer and Wm. Wrigley Jr. to the functional strip arena with Vita Strips-delivering 100% of daily recommended vitamin intake-and Electro Strip, which claims to provide the 8-oz. equivalent of electrolytes in sports drinks without...