View source for Chiclets

{{Short description|Brand of candy-coated chewing gum}}
{{Other uses|Chiclet (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Promotional Chiclets.JPG|thumb|Sample package]]
[[File:Chicklets ad 1912.jpg|right|thumb|upright|1912 advertisement]]
'''Chiclets''' is an American brand of candy-coated [[chewing gum]] owned by [[Perfetti Van Melle]]. The brand was introduced in 1900 by the [[American Chicle Company]], a company founded by [[Thomas Adams]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.candyfavorites.com/a-chiclet-history|title=A Chiclet history|first=Laurnie|last=Wilson|work=CandyFavorites.com|access-date=5 May 2018}}</ref>

==History==
The Chiclets name derives from the [[Mexican Spanish]] word "[[chicle]]," from the Aztec [[Nahuatl]] word "chictli/tzictli", meaning "sticky stuff" and referring to a pre-Columbian chewing gum found throughout Mesoamerica. This pre-Columbian chewing gum was tapped as a sap from various trees.

Chiclets are essentially the same as regular chewing gum,{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}{{Disputed inline|Essentially the same|date=April 2022}} with the innovation of a hard sugar coating offered in various flavors and colors. The original flavor was peppermint and assorted fruit flavors were available in Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, India, Iraq, Lebanon, Mexico, Portugal, Syria, Turkey,  the United Kingdom, Venezuela, and parts of the Americas.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZhPcV7O0aS4C&q=chiclets+introduced+1900&pg=PA91 |title=The Un-Demanding Cook Book - John Aylmer - Google Books |date= September 2008|access-date=2017-01-07|isbn=9781438907413 |last1=Aylmer |first1=John }}</ref>{{failed verification|date=September 2021}} In some markets, like Mexico and Venezuela, the brand is known as "Adam's Chiclets",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.milenio.com/estilo/gastronomia/chicle-de-que-esta-hecho-su-historia-y-como-se-fabrica|title=Chicle. De qué está hecho, su historia, y cómo se fabrica|first=Milenio|last=Digital|website=Grupo Milenio}}</ref> named like that after [[Thomas Adams (chewing gum maker)|brand founder Thomas Adams]].

Both in Brazil and in Portugal, the name ''chiclete'' became a generic word for chewing gum due to the popularity of the brand.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Infopédia - Porto Editora - Chiclete |url=https://www.infopedia.pt/dicionarios/lingua-portuguesa/chiclete}}</ref>

Various people have been credited with inventing Chiclets, including the brothers Robert and [[Frank Fleer]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Chicle: The Chewing Gum of the Americas, from the Ancient Maya to William Wrigley|author=Mathews, Jenifer|page=49|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C-mb5wUcFVEC&q=invented+chiclets&pg=PA49|access-date=May 7, 2014|isbn=9780816528219|year=2009}}</ref><ref name=SEP/> and Louis Mahle.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-feb-24-mn-22504-story.html|title=Louis W. Mahle; Inventor of Chiclets Gum|date=Feb 24, 1998|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=May 7, 2014|archive-date=May 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508043108/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/feb/24/news/mn-22504|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2019, the Saturday Evening Post said that as of 2016, Mondelez had discontinued selling Chiclets in the United States.<ref name=Mashed>{{cite web |last1=Behr |first1=Felix |title=Whatever Happened to Chiclets |url=https://www.mashed.com/267995/whatever-happened-to-chiclets/ |website=Mashed |publisher=Static Media |access-date=November 22, 2022}}</ref><ref name=SEP>{{cite web |last1=Gilmore |first1=Nicholas |title=11 Old Candies You Can't Buy Anymore |url=https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2019/10/11-old-candies-you-cant-buy-anymore/ |website=The Saturday Evening Post |publisher=Saturday Evening Post Society |access-date=November 22, 2022}}</ref> It has re-appeared as of 2019, manufactured in Mexico.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abasto.com/en/product-showcase/adams-chiclets-a-classic-chewing-gum-worth-trying/|title=Adams Chiclets: A Classic Chewing Gum Worth Trying|date=October 15, 2019}}</ref> In 2020 the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board held that the Chiclets trademark had not been abandoned.<ref name=Mashed/><ref>{{cite court |litigants=Retrobrands USA LLC v.Intercontinental Great Brands LLC |opinion=Cancellation No. 92066647 |pinpoint=(p. 35 (Section E: Summary)) |court=[[Trademark Trial and Appeal Board]] <!--|via=United States Patent and Trademark Office--> |date=May 29, 2020 |url=https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-92066647-CAN-52.pdf |access-date=October 6, 2021 |quote=Petitioner has not established abandonment coupled with an intent not to resume use for any of the CHICLETS marks. To the extent Petitioner’s evidence is sufficient to establish a prima facie case of abandonment, while there is evidence of actual resumed use only for some of the CHICLETS marks, the other evidence of intent to resume use nevertheless supports such intent for all of them. |postscript=none}}</ref> To further confuse the issue it was noted in an article on the Mashed website that Chiclets, identified as Adams Chiclets, were available at [[Walmart]], [[Kmart]] and [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] in the United States.<ref name=Mashed/> Ingredient lists now show aspartame being used as a sweetener, while still showing sugar and glucose.

On December 19, 2022, [[Mondelez International|Mondelez]] announced that it was selling its gum business, including the Chiclets brands, to [[Perfetti Van Melle]], the makers of [[Mentos]]. The deal closed on October 2, 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Soglin |first1=Talia |date=December 19, 2022 |title=Snack food giant Mondelez to sell its gum business, including a Rockford facility and brands, including Trident |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-mondelez-sells-gum-business-rockford-20221219-oria4do67vbalmwvlydhaqslfm-story.html |access-date=December 21, 2022 |work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>

In [[ice hockey]], the slang term ''spitting chiclets'' describes spitting broken teeth onto the ice (the teeth supposedly resembling Chiclets), a not-uncommon event in ice hockey, where hard blows to the face are a hazard of play.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets/2014/12/27/blue-jackets-players-used-to/23752888007/ |title=Blue Jackets players used to 'spittin' Chiclets' |author=<!--staff--> |date=December 26, 2014 <!--updated Dec. 28-->|work=Columbus Dispatch |accessdate=November 1, 2024}}</ref> A popular hockey podcast is named ''[[Spittin' Chiclets]]''.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Chiclets}}

{{Perfetti Van Melle}}

[[Category:Chewing gum]]
[[Category:Cadbury Adams brands]]
[[Category:Perfetti Van Melle brands]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1900]]

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