Fruit Stripe

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Fruit Stripe is an artificially and naturally flavored fruit chewing gum that is notorious for its strong but fleeting flavor. It is packaged in zebra-striped wrappers, and every stick now comes with one or more temporary tattoos. Three five-flavor packs are made: cherry, lemon, orange, mixed fruit, and lime; cherry, grape, mixed fruit, lemon, and cotton candy; sugar-free. However, an alternative version of the initial pack consists of wet 'n wild melon, cherry, lemon, orange, and peach smash. The product proudly holds claim that it is the only gum with painted-on stripes. In the late 1970s, there was a chocolate version called Chocolate Stripe.[1]

The "Five Flavor Gum" was invented by James Parker and launched in the early 1960s as an extension of the Beech-Nut gum line. Farley's & Sathers Candy Company acquired Fruit Stripes in 2003 from The Hershey Company.

In 1996, Fruit Stripe gave five cents from the sale of each Jumbo Pack and Variety Multipack to the World Wildlife Fund, totaling up to $100,000, for the preservation of endangered animals and their habitats.[1]

Mascots

A character known as the Fruit Stripe Gum Man promoted the product as late as 1967;[2] he merely consisted of an anthropomorphic gum pack with limbs and a face. The Stripes Family Animals, which included a zebra, Connor the tiger, elephant, and mouse, were also used in advertising and featured in a coloring book and plush toys.[3][4]

However, the zebra named "Yipes" has outlasted the other characters to become Fruit Stripe's long-standing, sole mascot. Wrappers contain tattoos of Yipes inline skating, playing baseball, hang gliding, playing basketball, bicycling, snowboarding, surfing, playing soccer, playing tennis, and eating grass. In 1988, Yipes was made into a promotional bendy figure which, according to FarleysandSathers.com, is currently valued at approximately $30–$50 in collector marketplaces.

In popular culture

The Beastie Boys compared their band's "flavor" to Fruit Stripe on their song "B-Boy Bouillabaisse" on the album Paul's Boutique. In Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Macaulay Culkin's character, Kevin, gives a bellboy (played by Rob Schneider) a piece of Fruit Stripe gum as a "tip." In the King of Queens, Season 6, episode 6, "Affidavit Justice," Doug mentions that his shirt looks like a package of Fruit Stripe gum. A similar joke is made in an episode of That '70s Show by Donna regarding Eric's shirt. The Peepers brand of reading glasses offers a colorful set of "Fruit Stripe Gum" frames.[5] In a season 6 episode of Family Guy, a cutaway makes reference to the short-living flavor of Fruit Stripe.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Who We Are FarleysandSathers.com
  2. ↑ Fruit Stripe Gum Man w/ motorcycle AdvertisingIconMuseum.org. Retrieved on 2-25-09.
  3. ↑ Food Character Premiums TheImaginaryWorld.com. Retrieved on 2-25-09.
  4. ↑ Yipes! Stripes! Retrieved on 2-25-09.
  5. ↑ Peeperspecs.com. Retrieved on 2-25-09.

External links

Confectionery products of Farley's & Sathers Candy Company
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