William Mills Wrigley Jr. (1861–1932) was an American industrialist and the “father of chewing gum.” This founder of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company was a salesman and manufacturer whose company became the world’s largest producer and distributor of chewing gum.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wrigley started working at age 13 as a traveling soap salesperson for his father’s company. In 1891, he went to Chicago as a soap distributor. He started a business manufacturing soap, baking powder, and chewing gum. The chewing gum was a premium to the baking powder.
When chewing gum soon proved more popular than baking powder, Wrigley focused on marketing the chewing gum alone. He invested heavily in eccentric advertising schemes and created new flavors, most notably the Spearmint (1893) and the Doublemint (1914) flavors. Sales were initially slow, but Wrigley chewing gums became very popular in the United States and later spread worldwide. Wrigley advertised in some 30 languages.
Wrigley was also the developer of Santa Catalina Island, off the shore of southern California, and owner of the Chicago Cubs. The Wrigley Building in Chicago, once Wrigley’s headquarters, is a prominent architectural landmark.
The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company is now part of the chocolate and confectionery conglomerate Mars, Incorporated.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by William Wrigley, Jr.
A man’s doubts and fears are his worst enemies.
—William Wrigley, Jr.
Topics: Confidence, Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt, Assurance
When two men in a business always agree, one of them is unnecessary.
—William Wrigley, Jr.
Topics: Business
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