As I’ll often find when researching vintage confectionery, “Googling it” regularly turns up nothing – zip, zilch, and nada. The history of candy packaging, especially for short-lived products, is seemingly lost and the internet can provide little help. So when setting out to write about a product like the one today, I am left with whatever can be turned up within the scattered collection of materials I’ve acquired over the years. It’s old-fashioned primary research (and it’s actually quite a lot of fun).
Such was the case the Warner-Lambert’s Frutables Juice Gum.
When I initially came across the Frutables wrapper now in my collection I assumed that it once contained some kind of Starburst-like fruit chew but that first glance was wrong. Released by Adams Gum in 1994-1995, then a subsidiary of Warner-Lambert, I would relate this product most closely to Bubblicious – another gum product sold by the same company.
But the similarities end there, as this was marketed as a “fruit gum”, clearly meant to appeal to a more health-conscious crowd than the likes of the kid-centric Bubblicious.
I did manage to find the product mentioned in a single trade ad of the time, this one from July of 1995. It includes Frutables in their then-current lineup of “innovative adult products”:
Warner-Lambert – Frutables fruit chews – candy trade ad – July 1995
So the trade ad clearly shows that this was a product meant to be marketed toward adults.
Finally, here’s a look at the wrapper in my collection – the only image of a Frutables wrapper you’ll find anywhere online:
Warner-Lambert – Frutables – NEW – assorted fruits juice gum – candy gum wrapper – 1994
I couldn’t dig up any other info on this short-lived, 1990’s gum offering, but eventually I hope to learn more and share it here. Does anyone remember this one, and what it was like? If you do, let us know.
For now, that’s everything I’ve got. See you next time!
One final thought: In a world where seemingly all of our questions can be answered by simply “going online”, isn’t it nice to know that some mysteries and some answers still require a little old-fashioned research?
I don’t remember Fruitables, but i sure remember Freshen Up –I loved that stuff back then! Good luck in your quest for info.
I’m wondering if it wasn’t just a fruit version of Freshen-Up — the packs are certainly the same size. (I never was a big fan of Freshen-Up, but I would have tried this stuff.)