Vale Middle School Reading Article
Wrigley to Sell Caffeinated Chewing Gum (1200L)
Instructions: COMPLETE ALL QUESTIONS AND MARGIN NOTES
Read the following article carefully and make notes in the margin as you read.
Your notes should include:
o Comments that show that you understand the article. (A summary or statement of the main
idea of important sections may serve this purpose.)
o Questions you have that show what you are wondering about as you read.
o Notes that differentiate between fact and opinion.
o Observations about how the writer’s strategies (organization, word choice, perspective,
support) and choices affect the article.
Your margin notes are part of your score for this assessment.
Answer the questions carefully in complete sentences unless otherwise instructed.
Student ____________________________Class Period__________________
Wrigley to sell caffeinated chewing gum
Notes on my thoughts,
reactions and questions as I
read:
Hey caffeine addicts: Your morning just got a little easier.
Next month, Wrigley will start selling a caffeinated gum with the equivalent of
about half a cup of coffee. Alert Energy Caffeine Gum, Wrigley's effort to tap
into the growing market for energy drinks, will be sold in convenience stores
and food and drug retailers. It's not the first caffeinated chewing gum, but it'll be
the first with Wrigley's brand and marketing strength behind it. No other caffeine
gum has wide distribution.
The gum comes in packs of eight, is sugar free, and will be available in fruit or
mint flavors. At $2.99, it's pricier than most gums, but cheaper than an energy
drink or Starbucks coffee. Energy drinks have become a much hotter product
than chewing gum. According to Euromonitor International, a global market
research firm, U.S. gum sales are down 3.8% since 2008, while sales of energy
drinks are up 41% during the same period. Wrigley's sales make up more than
half the gum market, according to Euromonitor.
Related: Energy drinks brace for caffeine crash
"Wrigley is focused on restoring gum category health, and that means creating
functional and 'occasion-based' reasons to chew, bringing relevance back to
gum," said a statement from the company. Wrigley is a unit of candy company
Mars, the nation's third largest privately held company. The company said it intends
to market the gum to consumers age 25 and older. A warning label on the back
says it's "not recommended for children."
Isidore, C. Wrigley to sell caffeinated chewing gum. CNN Money. March 8, 2013