Fruit Stripe

Fruit Stripe is an artificially and naturally flavored fruit chewing gum notorious for its strong yet fleeting flavor. It proudly claims to be the only gum with painted-on stripes, and is packaged in zebra-striped wrappers.


History

The "Five Flavor Gum" was invented by James Parker and launched in early 1969 as an extension of the Beech-Nut gum line. Farley's & Sathers Candy Company acquired Fruit Stripe in 2003 from The Hershey Company. Farley's & Sathers merged with Ferrara Pan in 2012, forming the Ferrara Candy Company.

Flavors

Two five-flavor packs of Fruit Stripe are currently produced:[1]

  1. Chewing gum: wet 'n wild melon, cherry, lemon, orange, and peach smash
  2. Bubble gum: cherry, grape, mixed fruit, lemon, and cotton candy

In the late 1970s, there was a chocolate version called Chocolate Stripe.[2]

Mascots

A character known as the Fruit Stripe Gum Man promoted the product as late as 1967;[3] he merely consisted of an anthropomorphic gum pack with limbs and a face. The Stripes Family Animals, which included a zebra, tiger, elephant, and mouse, were also used in advertising and featured in a coloring book and plush toys.[4][5]

However, a cartoon zebra named Yipes has outlasted the other characters to become Fruit Stripe's long-standing, sole mascot. Wrappers contain tattoos of Yipes inline skating, skateboarding, 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.

Yipes is shown prominently on Fruit Stripe gum packaging. Yipes is often shown as a sports player, playing basketball or soccer on the gum's packaging.[6]

Promotions

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.[2]

Some packs of Fruit Stripe gum include temporary tattoos.

Short films

In 1991, a commercial-type music video short film, Yipes! Stripes!, features different types of cartoon animation set to a 1980's rap song called, Yipes! Stripes!. The short film features a Digeri Dingo-inspired/Digeri Dingo-esque anthropomorphic rainbow-striped zebra named Yipes (voiced by Scott Weinger, best known for the voice of Aladdin in Disney's Aladdin), who is the main protagonist of the short film. The rap is performed by Kath Soucie (best known for the voice of Fifi Le Fume and Lil' Sneezer in Tiny Toon Adventures), who also voiced Yipes's female anthropomorphic rainbow-striped zebra girlfriend and love interest. The short film also includes a cut-out animated photograph of a kid blowing a computer animated bubble gum up until it explodes, a stop motion animated road, and a claymation sequence involving two clay animated aliens (a green one, and a purple one) with guns as their weapons in a distant planet.[7]

The Beastie Boys compared their band's "flavor" to Fruit Stripe on their song "B-Boy Bouillabaisse" on the album Paul's Boutique.

In the feature film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Macaulay Culkin's character, Kevin, gives a piece of Fruit Stripe gum as a "tip" to a bellboy (played by Rob Schneider).

In the television sitcom 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 the sitcom That '70s Show by Donna regarding Eric's shirt.

The Peepers brand of reading glasses offers a colorful set of "Fruit Stripe Gum" frames.[8]

In "Play It Again, Brian", a Season 6 episode of the animated television series Family Guy, a cutaway makes reference to the short-living flavor of Fruit Stripe.

References

  1. ↑ Fruit Stripe website, retrieved on 2016-08-30
  2. 1 2 Who We Are, FarleysandSathers.com
  3. ↑ Fruit Stripe Gum Man with motorcycle, AdvertisingIconMuseum.org. Retrieved on 2-25-09.
  4. ↑ Food Character Premiums, TheImaginaryWorld.com. Retrieved on 2-25-09.
  5. ↑ Yipes! Stripes! Retrieved on 2-25-09.
  6. ↑ Fruit Stripe Archived October 8, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. at snackmemory.com
  7. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSrhxAidI08
  8. ↑ Fruit-Striped-Gum Peepers Reading Glasses, Peeperspecs.com. Retrieved on 2009-02-25.
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