Eclipse is a brand of

chewing gum Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its tex ...

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 U.S. pellet gum segment. It was modeled after Excel in Canada, which was launched in 1991.

Description

Eclipse is a brand that promises to give users "powerful fresh breath". Eclipse gum are available in the U.S., Australia and Latvia, but are also sold in Canada under the name Excel. Eclipse mints are sold in the United States, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Latvia, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong under the name Eclipse mints and in Canada as Excel mints. In Bulgaria, they are still sold as Airwaves, which they were also previously sold as in Australia.

Gum

Excel gum was launched in Canada in 1991, eight years before Eclipse was launched. The Eclipse brand of

was modeled after Excel and first introduced in the U.S. by the Wrigley Company in 1999. It was the company's first entrant into the U.S. pellet gum segment. 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 thermoform ...

s of 12 pellets, split packs that include 18 pellets, and the Big-E-Pak plastic containers with 60 count plastic container of pellets. In late 2007, the

American Dental Association The American Dental Association (ADA) is an American professional dental association. Established in 1859 and with over 159,000 current members, ADA is the world's largest and oldest national dental association. The organization lobbies on behal ...

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

Mints 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 ...

, in metal and paper (Europe) containers, are also sold by Wrigley under the Eclipse brand. 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 Spearmint (''Mentha spicata''), also known as garden mint, common mint, lamb mint and mackerel mint, is native to Europe and southern temperate Asia, extending from Ireland in the west to southern China in the east. It is naturalized in many othe ...

(green),

peppermint Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a Hybrid (biology), hybrid species of Mentha, mint, a cross between Mentha aquatica, watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in m ...

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, biscuits, b ...

(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, w ...

(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 alco ...

, 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 mechanism ...

(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 chemical formula, formula . It can be viewed as a benzyl group substituent, substituted for the methyl group of alanine, or a phenyl group in place of a terminal hydrogen of ...

. 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, with all ...

, not a living hinge 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. Mars has launched the Fresh Futures program in Australia to support India’s mint growing communities to become more sustainable. According to the manufacturer, Fresh Futures aims to advance plant science and invest in mint farmers and their communities in Uttar Pradesh to ensure their crops “thrive for generations”. Uttar Pradesh lies in the heart of India’s mint growing region and accounts for around 75% of the world’s fresh mint, a key ingredient in Eclipse Mints. 50 mints are contained in each package, with a

net weight In science and engineering, the weight of an object is a quantity associated with the gravitational force exerted on the object by other objects in its environment, although there is some variation and debate as to the exact definition. Some st ...

of 1.2 oz (34 g). In Australia, the packaging was changed in March 2019 to 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 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 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 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 flavors including Spearmint (green), Peppermint (light blue), Winterfrost (blue), Orange (orange), Blackcurrant (purple), Grape (purple and green), and Lime (silver and green). Eclipse sugarfree gum are sold in resealable bag with Spearmint (green), Peppermint (blue), Polar Ice (silver), and Lemon Ice (yellow) flavors. In Canada, Excel Mints are sold with both French and English on the box, as required by law. The Canadian version only has 49 mints. During the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada, each piece of gum had a small edible

maple leaf The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is most widely recognized as the national symbols of Canada, national symbol of Canada. History of use in Canada By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by ...

printed on to support the Canadian Olympic Team. In partnership with Chinese Stomatological Association in 2012, Excel released the first dental health app in China; Ai Ya Qing Song Xue (爱牙轻松学), developed by FabriQate.

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 Canadian confectionery Products introduced in 1991

Description

Gum

Mints

Availability

See also

References

External links