Prepared for: Professor Monica Ng

Prepared By: Erin Shoemaker, Rebecca Nuez, Michael Simmons, Tariq Safrah
CHOOSING THE BEST BRAND
OF GUM: A FEASIBILITY REPORT


1

Table of Contents
Executive Summary.............................................................................................................................................. 2
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 3
Methods for Evaluating the Options .............................................................................................................. 4
Price ....................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Flavor Intensity ................................................................................................................................................. 4
Flavor Duration ................................................................................................................................................. 4
Texture (Smoothness) .................................................................................................................................... 5
Results of the Evaluation.................................................................................................................................... 5
Price ....................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Flavor Intensity ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Flavor Duration ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Texture .................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................................. 7
Recommendation .................................................................................................................................................. 7










2

Executive Summary
Our group investigated four brands of spearmint gum: Orbit, Stride, 5, and Trident. Because
option 3, Wrigleys 5 gum, offers the longest duration of flavor and the strongest flavor
intensity, and is also ranked within the top two for overall texture, we have determined
that 5 offers the best spearmint gum.



















3

Introduction
With so many flavors and brands of gum available, it can become difficult to choose which
brand to buy. Whether you like to chew gum throughout the day, or only when you want to
freshen your breath, most people will probably say that they have a pack of gum on them at
all times. Students, in particular, may find that chewing gum helps them concentrate better
in the classroom. Research by Baylor College of Medicine funded by the Wrigley Science
Institute in 2009 found that chewing gum can lead to better academic performance.
According to their research, gum-chewing students had a 3 percent increase in their
standardized math test scores compared with those who did not chew gum. Although some
students may not be aware of the benefits of chewing gum, it is still something that almost
all students do every day. In this report, our goal is to find the best brand of sugar-free
chewing gum for the same flavor. To meet this goal, the brands we tested were as follows:

Option 1: Orbit Spearmint. Wrigleys Orbit gum is a well-
known, global brand that is enjoyed by people worldwide.


Option 2: Stride Spearmint. Stride gum is a brand with
numerous flavors, with the slogan of The Ridiculously Long
Lasting Gum. This brand has a strong association with the
younger demographic.


Option 3: 5 Rain. Wrigleys 5 gum is very popular, and was made
famous by its black packaging and attention-grabbing
advertisements.




Option 4: Trident Spearmint. Trident gum comes in many
varieties, and was one of the first national brands of sugar-
free chewing gum in the United States.


4

In the report that follows, we test these options and recommend the best brand that offers
the smoothest texture, and most intense, long-lasting flavor.

Methods for Evaluating the Options
To support our recommendation, we evaluated the feasibility of each option using four
criteria:
Price
Flavor Intensity
Flavor Duration
Texture (Smoothness)
To gather information, we conducted a series of tests by chewing the gum ourselves, and by
gathering results from others who chewed the gum.

Price
We went to a couple different locations that sold the gum, and recorded the average
price for each brand.
o Orbit contained 14 pieces in one pack.
o Stride contained 14 pieces in one pack.
o 5 contained 15 pieces in one pack.
o Trident contained 18 pieces in one pack.
Orbit and Stride are relatively the same size, while 5 is much bigger than all the options.
Trident is a bit smaller than Orbit and Stride.

Flavor Intensity
After chewing the gum for a few minutes, we rated the intensity of the flavor on a
scale of 1-5, with 5 being the strongest flavor.
We found the average rating from all tests.

Flavor Duration
Once we began chewing the gum, we wrote down what time it was.
After we noticed that the flavor was completely gone, we wrote down the time
again.
We calculated the difference between the two times to figure out how long the
flavor lasted in minutes.


5

Texture (Smoothness)
We wanted the gum to be smooth and easy to chew. We did not want the gum to be
rough or have an unpleasant feeling to it.
After chewing the gum for a few minutes, we rated the texture of the gum on a scale
of 1-5, with 5 being the smoothest.
We found the average rating from all tests.

Results of the Evaluation
To determine the feasibility of the brands, we evaluated the four options according to the
criteria of price, flavor intensity, flavor duration, and overall texture.

Price
Option 1, Orbit, cost an average of $1.10 for a pack of 14.
Option 2, Stride, cost an average of $0.96 for a pack of 14.
Option 3, 5, cost an average of $1.29 for a pack of 15.
Option 4, Trident, cost an average of $1.30 for a pack of 18.


Flavor Intensity
5 had the overall most intense flavor.

3
2
5
4
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Orbit Stride 5 Trident
R
a
t
i
n
g

(
s
c
a
l
e

o
f

1
-
5
)

Brand
Flavor Intensity (5 is the strongest flavor)
6

Flavor Duration
5 had the overall longest lasting flavor.


Texture
Orbit had the overall smoothest texture.

67
30
78
19
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Orbit Stride 5 Trident
D
u
r
a
t
i
o
n

(
i
n

m
i
n
u
t
e
s
)

Brand
Flavor Duration
5
3
4
3
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Orbit Stride 5 Trident
R
a
t
i
n
g

(
s
c
a
l
e

o
f

1
-
5
)

Brand
Texture (5 is the smoothest)
7

Conclusions
The following table summarizes all of the gathered data for this report.
Option
Price (in
USD)
Flavor Intensity (5
point scale)
Flavor
Duration
Texture (5 point
scale)
Orbit $1.10 3 67 minutes 5
Stride $0.96 2 30 minutes 3
5 $1.29 5 78 minutes 4
Trident $1.30 4 19 minutes 3

Each of the four options has pros and cons. Option 1, Orbit gum, offers the smoothest
texture, moderate intensity, and a moderate flavor duration. Option 2, Stride gum, offers a
moderately smooth texture, low flavor intensity, and a small flavor duration. Option 3, 5,
offers a very smooth texture, the highest flavor intensity, and the longest lasting flavor.
Option 4, Trident, offers a moderately smooth texture, a very high flavor intensity, and a
very low flavor duration.

Recommendation
Trident and 5 have very similar prices, but because 5 has a stronger flavor intensity, longer
flavor duration, and smoother texture, we have determined that 5 gum is the overall
winner. We recommend 5 gum for the best spearmint flavored chewing gum.










8

References

Gajilan, A. C. (n.d.). Chew on this: Gum may be good for body, mind. CNN. Retrieved May 2,
2014, from
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/22/chewing.gum.benefits/index.html?iref=24ho
urs

Orbit Gum. (2012, January 1). Wrigley.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from
http://www.wrigley.com/global/brands/orbit.aspx

Stride On. (n.d.). Stride On. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.stridegum.com/

Trident (gum). (2014, April 21). Wikipedia. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trident (gum)

5 Gum. (n.d.). Wrigley.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from
http://www.wrigley.com/global/brands/5-gum.aspx