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-c- or 2-c-. 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-c-, 7-c- or 8-c-.

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 130 1/2.

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.

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