From their inception in 1912 until at least 1964, Life Savers were "still only 5¢."
How many products could make that claim?
What conversations must have gone on behind the scenes, to enable that price point to continue?
1912
Clarence Crane's Life Savers Pep⭕Mint candy rolls were 5¢ when Ed Noble first tried them.
1913
Noble and Allen kept the 5¢ price point, after they purchased the company from Crane. Furthermore, they used this as one of their marketing concepts; they asked they're retailers to always include a nickel in the change, so that a customer could easily pick up a roll as an impulse purchase.
51 years--at least!--elapsed - 5¢
Was stable prices for Life Savers a record?
No. I have no idea whether there was any correlation or competition between these 2 companies to keep the prices down... But Coca-Cola™️ (another sugar-driven product) kept their price to a nickel for 70 years.
And as you'll see below, chewing gum prices featured the same stability.
1964 - 5¢
This price was validated on a label that had a date (related to a contest). The 5¢ price may have continued for months or even years after that date.
~1970 - 5¢
In 1974, Clare M. Reckert wrote "Less than four years ago chewing gum was selling at 5¢ a pack, then containing 5 sticks, the same price that had prevailed since the 1890s." While this refers to a different candy product, both candy and gum were selling for roughly the same price for many years.
Reckert, C. 1974 "Wrigley and Chicle raise prices for chewing gum." New York Times, retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/20/archives/wrigley-and-chicle-raise-prices-for-chewing-gum-prices-increased.html
Aft. 1964 / Bef. 1968 Beech-Nut - 5¢
This package is listed as being 5¢ rolls, And they are tagged as being Beech-Nut. These are after the years with gold on the edges of the packages
Photo ©️2024 by zoom**zoom. Used with permission provided on 4 August 2024.
Aft. 1964 / Bef. 1968 Beech-Nut - 10¢
The roll here https://www.etsy.com/listing/1240991743/vintage-lifesavers-candy .This price point would have been at some point after the 1964 Beech-Nut years (referred to above) and at some point before the 1968, when the company merged with Squibb.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/cen-v045n033.p013a
https://time.com/archive/6799725/corporations-new-wrapper/
Aug. 20, 1974 - 15¢
Life Savers, Inc. increased the wholesale prices of Life Savers, which they indicated had resulted in a final price of 15¢ per retail roll at most places selling them in the United States.
Incidentally, soon after this article, it was predicted that Beech‐Nut and Life Savers chewing gums would hit the same price point.
https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/20/archives/wrigley-and-chicle-raise-prices-for-chewing-gum-prices-increased.html
1985
I don't know whether Andy Warhol meant to make a point when he emphasized "still only 5¢" on his Pop Art Life Savers poster. If my memory serves me correctly, by 1985 this same roll of Five Flavors would have cost about 25¢, an increase of 500%.
1988-1995
These are marked as 25¢ rolls...the prices are definitely jumping. These Fruit Juicers are following a trend of freshness in product..."with real fruit juice".
2024
And here is a shock...from 5¢ to $2.49. If you look at the picture, these are noted as "retro" candy. I contacted a local fresh candy retailer, and they indicated that they currently have 4 types of rolls: Five Flavor, Pep⭕Mint, Wint⭕green, Butter Rum.
Photos ©️2024 Karen Smith-Will
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.