CityLife

Gum kicks mints into touch

BOILED mints are falling out of favour as shoppers reach for packets of chewing gum instead, new research suggests.

Britons munched on é317 billion worth of gum last year - up 28% since 2001, market analysts Mintel said.

Meanwhile, sales of mints fell 14% to below é200 million over the same period.

Boiled mints - traditionally a favourite with older people - suffered a 40% drop.

Sugar-free chewing gum has replaced regular gum as the number one choice, with sales up 38% since 2001. It now makes up 76% of the sector.

Chewing gum which claims to whiten teeth or improve dental hygiene is also "extremely" popular, particularly with older consumers, the Chewing Gums and Mints report says.

Mintel senior market analyst Julie Sloan said mint sweets were suffering an image problem.

"Mints are now more often than not seen as somewhat old-fashioned and have failed to compete with the more dynamic chewing gum sector, having struggled to make new products work and suffered at the hands of fluctuating advertising support," she said.

Sales of mints will decline by a further 4% by 2010, Mintel predicts.

It says chewing gum sales are set to rise by 31% between 2005 and 2010.

The proposed smoking ban could give both types of product a boost because smokers often choose them as a replacement for cigarettes, the report adds.