Eclipse is a brand of chewing gum and

breath mint A mint or breath mint is a food item often consumed as an after-meal refreshment or before business and social engagements to improve breath odor. Mints are commonly believed to soothe the stomach given their association with natural byproducts ...

, first introduced in the U.S. by the Wrigley Company in 1999 as its first entrant into the pellet gum segment. However, it was modeled after Excel in Canada, which was launched in 1991, eight years before Eclipse was launched. Eclipse is a brand that promises to give users "powerful fresh breath". It comes in

blister pack A blister pack is any of several types of pre-formed plastic packaging used for small consumer goods, foods, and for pharmaceuticals. The primary component of a blister pack is a cavity or pocket made from a formable web, usually a thermofor ...

s of 12, the Big-E-Pak – 60 count plastic container of candy-coated pellets, and the recently added split packs that include 18 pellets. Eclipse gum is available in the U.S, Australia and Latvia, but are also sold in Canada under the name Excel. Mints, in metal and paper (Europe) containers, are also sold by Wrigley under the Eclipse brand, as is Eclipse Ice gum. In late 2007, the American Dental Association awarded its seal of approval to Eclipse sugarfree gum. Orbit and Extra, two other chewing gum products from the same company, also bear the ADA seal.

Mints

An Eclipse mint is an oval prism rounded at top and bottom, with the top and bottom halves varying in colour, depending on the flavor. Spearmint (green),

peppermint Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world.Euro+Med Plantb ...

and Black Chill (blue), and Winterfrost (dark blue) are available, as well as

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus '' Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakf ...

(all pink), orange (light orange) and

blackcurrant The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, whe ...

(purple). The ingredients in the Australian and New Zealand cinnamon product are

sorbitol Sorbitol (), less commonly known as glucitol (), is a sugar alcohol with a sweet taste which the human body metabolizes slowly. It can be obtained by reduction of glucose, which changes the converted aldehyde group (−CHO) to a primary alcoho ...

, flavor,

anticaking agent An anticaking agent is an additive placed in powdered or granulated materials, such as table salt or confectioneries, to prevent the formation of lumps (caking) and for easing packaging, transport, flowability, and consumption. Caking mechanisms ...

(470), sweeteners (955, 950) and colours (129, 133); while the orange product contains food acid (330), sweetener (951) (instead of 950), and colours (102, 129) (instead of 129, 133). The orange product advises that it contains

Phenylalanine Phenylalanine (symbol Phe or F) is an essential α-amino acid with the formula . It can be viewed as a benzyl group substituted for the methyl group of alanine, or a phenyl group in place of a terminal hydrogen of alanine. This essential amin ...

. Though classified as breath mints, it is unknown if the mints contain active antibacterial ingredients. The new packaging now claims to have a 'natural ingredient' that is scientifically proven to help kill the germs that cause bad breath. Such ingredient is not specified but the label points to a pending patent for this ingredient. Wrigley's product website for Eclipse describes the ingredient as Magnolia bark extract (MBE), which has its origins in traditional Chinese medicine. In lab tests, MBE is said to have killed almost all oral bacteria, including the types that cause bad breath and cavities. Eclipse is the first product in the US to contain MBE. Eclipse mints are packaged in a recyclable steel box. The top of the box (narrow end) is attached with metal hinge (a true

hinge A hinge is a mechanical bearing that connects two solid objects, typically allowing only a limited angle of rotation between them. Two objects connected by an ideal hinge rotate relative to each other about a fixed axis of rotation: all other ...

, not a

living hinge A living hinge or integral hinge is a thin flexible hinge (flexure bearing) made from the same material as the two rigid pieces it connects. It is typically thinned or cut to allow the rigid pieces to bend along the line of the hinge. The mi ...

like many boxed mints). The top may be opened and pushed back on the hinge to gain access to the mints. On opening the box the tagline "powerful fresh breath" is revealed, printed on a raised metal plate on the inner surface of the lid. 50 mints are contained in each package, with a

net weight In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force acting on the object due to gravity. Some standard textbooks define weight as a vector quantity, the gravitational force acting on the object. Others define weight as a scalar quan ...

of 1.2 oz (34 g). The Canadian version only has 49 mints. In Australia the packaging has changed March 2019to 17 g, but the price has remained at $2 that the original packaging was at when on special at Woolworths.

Availability

Eclipse mints are sold in Canada under the name Excel. They are sold in the United States, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Latvia, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong under the name Eclipse mints; in Australia, they were previously sold under the name Airwaves. In Bulgaria they are still sold as Airwaves. The Australian and New Zealand products contains a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

translation on the outer wrapper, even though it is not an official language of either country. The winterfrost variety is not sold in Australia. Cinnamon has been discontinued due to very low sales, but are still available in many stores. In early 2009, the "Black Chill" variety was introduced. This variety comes in a black tin, and the mints are the same colour as the Peppermint variety. The taste is comparable to Wintergreen Tic Tacs. In late 2009 a new flavor was introduced, Cool Breeze. They are a less intense peppermint flavor and appear in a silver tin. In Canada, Excel Mints are sold with both French and English on the box, as required by law. In Taiwan, Eclipse mints are sold with Chinese name "Yi Koh Shu" (易口舒) printed on the tin box. Two collections, Original Mint and Fruity Mint, with three flavors each are available in the market. These flavors are Spearmint, Peppermint, Winterfrost, Peach Mint, Apple Mint and Lemon Mint. In Hong Kong, Eclipse mints are sold in tin with Spearmint (Green), Peppermint (Light Blue), Winterfrost (Blue), Orange (Orange), Blackcurrant (Purple) Flavor and Lime (Silver and Green) Flavor, and Eclipse sugarfree gum are sold in resealable bag with Spearmint (Green), Peppermint (Blue), Polar Ice (Silver), and Lemon Ice (Yellow) Flavors.

References

External links

ADA seal search page for Wrigley
{{Wrigley Products introduced in 1999 Breath mints Chewing gum Wrigley Company brands American confectionery Brand name confectionery

Mints

Availability

See also

References

External links