Life Savers: 100+ Years of Sweetness

FB IMG 1700243510699 As an elementary school kid, I thought, "When I'm an adult, I want to have 1 of every flavor of Life Saver there is." Life Savers Virtual Museum & Blog is the outcome of that quirky wish!

Details: Written by Karen Smith-Will; Parent Category: Research; Category: Life Savers: 100+ Years of Sweetness

This article is actually a really meaningful one for me. My masters is in Leadership, and Servant Leadership was one focus of my research. So it was pretty exciting to discover a leader from Life Savers had written about this topic! I guess you could call this article my book report on Cheryl Bachelder's Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others.

Details: Written by Karen Smith-Will; Parent Category: Research; Category: Life Savers: 100+ Years of Sweetness

"From the Life Saver Corp. at Port Chester, N.Y., has come 1200 rolls of Life Savers."

Gail Halvorsen, aka "the Chocolate Pilot", introduced the German population of Berliner children to "Rollen Lebensretter," or Life Savers rolls.

Details: Written by Karen Smith-Will; Parent Category: Research; Category: Life Savers: 100+ Years of Sweetness

Screenshot 20240323 1404132 From their inception in 1912 until at least 1964, Life Savers were "still only 5¢."

How many products could make that claim?

Details: Written by Karen Smith-Will; Parent Category: Research; Category: Life Savers: 100+ Years of Sweetness

THE WRIGLEY CO. (EAST AFRICA) LTD.

Wrigley's first plant had been built in 1972.

https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2018/05/28/Mars-to-build-69.3m-factory-to-expand-Wrigley-s-market-share-in-Africa

P.O Box 30767, Plot LR No. 209/6922 19 Bamburi Rd, Nairobi, 00100 Kenya

Retrieved from https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.the_wrigley_company_(east_africa)_limited.3fece8bb7221c9623cab7a735b764393.html

Mars

"Mars Africa is a wholly owned division of Mars Incorporated. Established in 1997, Mars has since grown to a Sub-Saharan business which employs over 400 Associates across 3 local sites in South Africa and a manufacturing facility in Kenya. The Sub-Saharan business is representative of four business segments namely, Petcare, Food, Gum and Confectionary."

However, it is unclear whether Life Savers™️ hard candy products are a) sold in Africa or b) manufactured at the Bamburi Road plant.

The manufacturing plant, built in 2018 at a cost of $69.3 million, was intended to create product to be distributed to Burundi, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, per Confectionery News. Retrieved from https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2018/05/28/Mars-to-build-69.3m-factory-to-expand-Wrigley-s-market-share-in-Africa

19 Bamburi Rd, Industrial Area, P.O Box 30767 - 00100N, airobi, Kenya; Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Websiteh ttps://www.mars.com/; Telephone +254 709 802 000

Retrieved from https://amcham.co.ke/report/wrigley-company-ea-ltd

Life Savers™️ is a trademarked name currently owned in the US by Mars Wrigley Confectionery, having been owned and/or licensed by many previous companies, varying by country.

Details: Written by Karen Smith-Will; Parent Category: Research; Category: Life Savers: 100+ Years of Sweetness

My older relatives have always regaled me with stories about when color TV first entered their lives. Imagine the look of Life Savers in black and white, versus Technicolor™️? They were clearly made for TV. So here is a selection of ads through the years:

Details: Written by Karen Smith-Will; Parent Category: Research; Category: Life Savers: 100+ Years of Sweetness

It's always fun to add a country to Life Savers exposure. Switzerland is well-known for its confectionery; however, that candy is often chocolate.

In this case, Nestlé acquired the Australian Life Savers operations.

Details: Written by Karen Smith-Will; Parent Category: Research; Category: Life Savers: 100+ Years of Sweetness

I have actually tried very hard to see whether Life Savers were sold around Europe (other than the UK). I may have screamed aloud when I finally found this ad from Italy. Thank you, Italy Magazine!

Now, for all of the other countries...

Details: Written by Karen Smith-Will; Parent Category: Research; Category: Life Savers: 100+ Years of Sweetness

It's clear from the magazine advertisements that Assort⭕Mints were boiled candies...the mints were translucent and colorful. What type of mints were included?

🚧Under construction; needs pix & links

Details: Written by Karen Smith-Will; Parent Category: Research; Category: Life Savers: 100+ Years of Sweetness

Who handled Life Savers Marketing? At first, it was an in-house thing. After that, Life Savers seemed to acquire highly competitive companies to produce ever-more-complex brand decisions.

1913

Edward Noble made a number of the early marketing decisions after they acquired the product from Clarence Crane.

1919

Ayer (N W) Incorporated (N W Ayer Advertising Agency) https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/ac-component/sova-nmah-ac-0059-ref5145

2005 & earlier

Foote Cone & Belding https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/fcb-out-wrigleys-life-savers-goes-review-80792/

2005 & later

Omnicom Group’s BBDO, retrieved from Chicago https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/fcb-out-wrigleys-life-savers-goes-review-80792/2007 Energy BBDO, retrieved from https://adage.com/creativity/work/muffin-top/2833

https://adage.com/creativity/work/we-are-sweet/2834

Life Savers™️ is a trademarked name currently owned in the US by Mars Wrigley Confectionery, having been owned and/or licensed by many previous companies, varying by country.

Details: Written by Karen Smith-Will; Parent Category: Research; Category: Life Savers: 100+ Years of Sweetness

Screenshot 20240715 194152 Life Savers at Christmas have long been a tradition. LifeSaversStoryBooks are a big part of the holiday season. And another part are Christmas ornaments.

Details: Written by Karen Smith-Will; Parent Category: Research; Category: Life Savers: 100+ Years of Sweetness

Sometimes I forget that Life Savers were originally intended as a health product. But all it takes is a scan through the first couple of decades of Life Savers ads to see the score: Life Savers were a product of their (unregulated!) time. They were sold at pharmacies. They often included the herbal ingredients/ remedies already being sold there. In a time with quack remedies and little government oversight, anything goes.