PRICES: Sweet Inflation

People buying gum or fruit drops today often find themselves fumbling for change and playing candy-counter roulette with various vendors who charge different prices for the same item. The trouble started when some manufacturers increased their prices on nickel candy and gum by either 1¢ or 2¢. In the subsequent confusion, wholesalers and retailers ignored the official prices and began charging whatever the traffic would bear. As a result, some people soured on sweets, and sales were hurt. Market analysts concluded that customers do not like to dig out several coins for a small purchase, would just as soon pay a dime as 6¢, 7¢ or 8¢.

Now the leading manufacturers are considering still another change. Chicago’s Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., the largest chewing-gum maker, is one of the few producers to have kept the price of its basic five-stick pack at a nickel. Market analysts predict that the company will soon raise its prices, perhaps shifting to an eight-stick pack for a dime. On the strength of such forecasts, Wrigley’s stock one day last week jumped more than nine points, to 130½.

Squibb Beech-Nut Inc. is test-marketing a dime pack of its famous Life Savers. To justify the increase, company officials contend that they have improved the product. They no longer will have mere flavors, but “super flavors”—23 kinds selected from 700 recipes that were tried out on volunteer suckers. Customers may have a hard time noticing it, but each Life Saver will weigh 10% more. “We’ve reduced the size of the hole,” says James Welsh, Beech-Nut’s public relations director.