American Chicle Company
| Company type | Corporation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Chewing gum manufacturing |
| Founded | June 2, 1899 in Trenton, New Jersey, United States |
| Founder | Thomas Adams Jr., Edward E. Beeman, Jonathan Primle |
| Headquarters | Long Island City , United States |
Key people | William J. White (first president), Thomas Adams Jr. (first chairman) |
| Products | Adams Sour, Beemans, Black Jack, Bubblicious, Certs, Chewels, Chiclets, Clove, Clorets, Dentyne, Freshen-Up, Trident |
Number of employees | 500+ |
| Parent | Warner-Lambert (from 1962), later Adams, Cadbury Schweppes, Kraft Foods, Mondelez International, Perfetti Van Melle (from 2023) |
The American Chicle Company was a chewing gum conglomerate established by Thomas Adams, Jr., alongside Edward E. Beeman and Jonathan Primle.
Thomas Adams
Thomas Adams (May 4, 1818 – February 7, 1905) was an American inventor and businessman of the 19th century, recognized as a pioneer in the chewing gum industry. While serving as secretary to former Mexican president Antonio López de Santa Anna—who chewed natural chicle—Adams attempted to utilize chicle as a substitute for rubber in tire manufacturing. After this endeavor proved unsuccessful, he shifted focus toward producing chewing gum, founding New York Chewing Gum.
In 1859, Adams produced his initial batch of unflavored chicle balls named Adams New York Gum No. 1, which quickly sold out. By 1870, he launched the first flavored chewing gum, Black Jack, featuring a black licorice taste and marketed from a warehouse located on Front Street. He secured a patent for the first chewing gum manufacturing machine in 1871 and opened a factory on Sands Street in 1888. Among his products, Tutti-Frutti gum was one of the earliest to be distributed via vending machines. Adams retired in 1898, handing over company leadership to his son Thomas Jr., who continued expanding its presence in the chewing gum sector.
American Chicle Company
Incorporated on June 2, 1899, in Trenton, New Jersey, the American Chicle Company started with a capitalization of $9 million, including preferred stock offering cumulative dividends. The firm was created through the merger of several prominent chewing gum businesses: Adams Sons & Company (Brooklyn), Beeman Chemical Company, W. J. White & Sons (Cleveland), J. P. Primley (Chicago), Kis-Me Gum Company (Louisville), and S. T. Britten & Co. (Toronto). Operations included manufacturing plants and gum harvesting areas in Yucatan. William J. White served as the company’s inaugural president while Thomas Adams Jr. held the position of first chairman.
In 1914, American Chicle purchased Chiclets from Fleer Chewing Gum Company and incorporated Dentyne into its brand lineup in 1916. By 1919, it invested $2 million in constructing a new facility at Degnon Terminal in Long Island City; this plant opened in 1923 spanning 550,000 square feet and employing over 500 workers. It produced approximately five million packages of gum daily and also functioned as corporate headquarters, becoming notable for its prominent Dentyne and Chiclet signage.
By 1935, American Chicle commanded a 15% share of the North American chewing gum market, ranking behind the William Wrigley Jr. Company and Beech-Nut Packing Company. Part of its strategy involved registering trademarks internationally, including markets such as El Salvador by 1920.
In 1950, the company enlisted advertising agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample to enhance product promotion across radio, print media, and television channels, boosting brand visibility and consumer engagement.
American Chicle Group
Pharmaceutical giant Warner-Lambert acquired American Chicle in 1962; combined sales that year reached approximately $300 million. Throughout the 1970s, the company discontinued Black Jack and Clove gums to concentrate on sugarless Trident and liquid-filled Freshen-Up products. Beemans gum was withdrawn from the U.S. market but continued availability persisted in Canada. A tragic explosion at the Long Island City plant in 1976 caused six fatalities and over forty injuries, resulting in a five-week shutdown. That same year saw the launch of Bubblicious as a competitor to Bubble Yum.
The Long Island City facility ceased operations in 1981 with production moving to Anaheim, California, and Rockford, Illinois. The Anaheim site closed in 1985 amid corporate restructuring efforts. In 1986, American Chicle introduced Sticklets—a stick version of Chiclets—and revived classic lines including Black Jack, Beemans, and Clove gums. Warner-Lambert expanded its confectionery holdings further in 1988 by acquiring candy brands such as Junior Mints, Charleston Chew, and Sugar Daddy from RJR Nabisco, thereby broadening its market presence and product portfolio under the American Chicle Group banner.
Adams
In 1997, the American Chicle Company was rebranded as Adams. Its parent organization, Warner-Lambert, was acquired by Pfizer in 2000 for $90.2 billion. After a two-year restriction on divesting its gum portfolio, Cadbury Schweppes acquired Adams in 2002 for $4.9 billion, positioning Cadbury as a worldwide leader in the chewing gum market. In 2010, Kraft Foods purchased Cadbury for $19.6 billion. When Kraft split in 2012, the Adams gum division became part of Mondelez International.
Mondelez discontinued the Chiclets line in 2016 but brought it back in 2019. By 2018, the company had sold off traditional gum brands including Black Jack, Beemans, and Clove. In 2023, Mondelez transferred ownership of its remaining gum brands across the United States, Canada, and Europe to Perfetti Van Melle, reflecting a strategic realignment in response to evolving consumer trends and market conditions.
Products
- Adams Sour
- Beemans
- Black Jack
- Bubblicious
- Certs
- Chewels
- Chiclets
- Clove
- Clorets
- Dentyne
- Freshen-Up
- Trident
See also
- American Chicle Company Building, New Orleans
- Charles Ranlett Flint
External links
- — (not yet digitized)'