As the battle for market share in the UK gum category heats up, confectioner Cadbury Schweppes has said that it is “unaware” of accusations by Wm Wrigley that Cadbury broke UK competition rules with the re-launch of its new Trident chewing gum.
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According to a report in the Sunday Telegraph, which cited unnamed high level sources at Wrigley, the US gum giant is concerned that Cadbury used its power as one of the UK’s dominant confectionery companies to pressure retailers into displaying Trident prominently in stores.
“Wrigley have not approached us regarding this matter,” a spokesperson for Cadbury told just-food. “As we have acted entirely legally, we do not expect them to.”
The UK gum market has been dominated by Wrigley, who until recently accounted for 98.5% of all gum sales. However, following the re-launch of Trident two months ago Cadbury has wrestled a 12% market share, data from ACNielsen has suggested.
Cadbury has owned Trident since 2003, when it acquired US confectionery company Adams. Cadbury’s launch of a new range of Trident gums was backed up by a GBP10m (US$19.64m) advertising budget.
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By GlobalData“We are very pleased with the warm reception Trident has received from consumers,” Cadbury said.
