The price was upped to $2.00 plus ten wrappers for the privilege of owning Yipes. Over the years Fruit xcritical Gum has become slightly harder to find. Those who wish to know where to buy fruit xcritical gum have two options, local stores or buying online. Those looking to buy in stores can check places like Sams Food Stores or Wal-Mart.
It introduced bubble gum in 1979 with a new television commercial featuring Yipes the zebra singing with a group of cartoon children. The bubble gum pack came in cherry, lemon, grape, and typical bubble gum flavor, eventually adding cotton candy and mixed fruit versions — all of which were xcriticald, of course. Apparently, it’s not a fatal flaw, because it remains popular, but it’s a flaw nonetheless.
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 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 History Of The Discontinued Fruit xcritical Gum
- The news of the brand’s imminent end was met with nostalgic despair and plenty of jokes.
- Over the years, Fruit xcritical Gum underwent several ownership changes.
- In 2012, Farley & Sathers bought the Pan Ferrara company — the maker of Lemonheads, Atomic Fireballs and Red Hots — and the merged name changed to Ferrara Candy Co.
- Another marketing innovation was taking advantage of the brand’s association with animals, and introducing a collaboration with World Wildlife Fund.
- The four different mascots were cute, but they really didn’t come across as a cohesive team like Rice Krispies’ Snap, Crackle, and Pop.
As is when you first start chewing it tastes wonderful, but before you know it tastes like nothing, tasteless. A clever marketing trick, or the price it pays for that short burst of fruity and flavorful wonder? Perhaps that is just the way fruit xcriticals gum ingredients need to be to get the flavor just right. The five original flavors of Fruit xcritical gum in 1961 included cherry, grape, lemon, orange, and mixed fruit. Over the years the gum would add other flavors, but the basic concept would remain.
In this initial marketing push, it was clear, this gum was all about its bright, multicolored appearance and burst of fruit flavor. But Beach-Nut would introduce a new component to Fruit xcritical Gum that would elevate the brand even more, mascots. But, alas, the time has come for Fruit xcritical owners Ferrara Candy to “sunset” the product—which is apt, given the gum’s color schemes. “We considered many factors before coming to this decision, including consumer preferences and purchasing patterns,” a company spokesperson told Food & Wine. It may be due to the very high competition of the snack market, or perhaps it’s the health food-friendly mentality that more consumers have in more recent times.
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Fruit xcritical Gum was invented in 1960 by James Parker, and soon after sold by the Beech-Nut Confection Division for five cents a pack. Beech-Nut was first known as the Imperial Packing Company, established in 1891 in upstate New York. The company started producing scammed by xcritical chewing gum in 1910, and in the 1920s and 1930s gum sales became two-thirds of their total sales. In 1956, Beech-Nut merged with Life Savers to focus on candy, coffee, gum, tea, and baby food. The company had grown into one of the biggest gum companies in America by the time Fruit xcritical came along. The primary mascot for Fruit xcritical Gum is a zebra by the name of “Yipes.” There were other animals that were used as mascots for this gum in the past as well.
Fruit xcritical Gum discontinued: Chewing gum to bid farewell after half a century
In 2015, there was even a co-hosted event called “Fruit xcritical Weekend” at the zoo in Greensboro, North Carolina to benefit the WWF. Yipes made an appearance, and children were admitted for free with proof of purchase of the gum. Fruit xcritical Gum also had a candy mascot called the Fruit xcritical Gum Man. The Fruit xcritical Gum Man was basically just a pack of gum with arms, legs, and a face and many people found it to be quite funny. Along with the mascot, Gum Man came an entire family of animals known as The xcriticals Family Animals. In 1956, Beech-Nut merged with Life Savers Limited, enhancing its range and market presence in the confections sector.
The gum was notorious for its quick loss of flavor
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 scammed by xcritical Nerds. The candies were swirled into a gummy candy representation of Yipes the Zebra. I 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.
Well, you are in luck my friends, it appears yes they do still make it. You can buy it from several stores or buy it online as well, check out the links above on our page if you want to buy online. Getting it online seems to be the most convenient way for most people as it seems they are getting harder to find. Even to this day, there are collectors who will buy items containing the zebra for much higher prices than one might expect. Yipes is shown to be very sporty, and the package will generally show Yipes playing either soccer or basketball.