The Pocket Chronicles: Breath Mints

Since publishing “Close at Hand: A Pocket History of Technology” two weeks ago, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about pockets and the things we tuck into them. Today, I decided to indulge the impulse and venture down the rabbit hole once again. This time, I narrowed my search to the history of breath mints.

Here’s what I learned:

• Breath fresheners date back to ancient Egypt, at least. Ancient Egyptians “would boil different herbs and spices — often frankincense, myrrh, and cinnamon — which was then mixed in with honey to form small candy-shaped pellets that could be sucked on and chewed.”
• Altoids were invented in London in 1780, and were originally marketed as a “stomach calmative.”
• Listerine breath strips — introduced in 2002 and marketed as Listerine PocketPaks — were an instant sensation. Time Magazine named PocketPaks one of the best inventions of 2002, and business was good, too: in recounting his experience launching Listerine PocketPaks in Canada, Graham Robertson reports that the strips “hit a 55% share of the mint market in the first share period, and maintained a #1 share position throughout the first three years.” Copycats clamored; in 2003, Wrigley’s and Altoids both introduced breath strips of their own. But the craze quickly subsided to a slow burn. According to Robertson, “From a production point of view, they never figured out a way to get that damn strip in the pack for a reasonable cost. Compared to food or confectionary, the margins were very strong at 60%. But compared to the other healthcare margins of 75% or 85%, Pfizer could not justify the investment to keep the sales strong.”
• Flavors sometimes take off in unexpected places. Altoids never did well in Britain, but soared in the U.S. — so much so that in 2005, their corporate parent moved production to Chattanooga, Tennessee. At the time, the New York Times fretted: “From the faux-vintage tins with antique typeface to the crisp British-accented voiceover on television ads, Altoids has subtly evoked its British origins since its introduction to the United States in 1918.…For the skittish branding industry, such moves are fraught with peril.” Fisherman’s Friend, “a brown lozenge made of a tongue-numbing blend of liquorice, menthol and eucalyptus oil” manufactured in Britain, took off in China and Thailand — where, according to The Daily Mail, “the lozenges are regarded as a luxury item on a par with a box of chocolates.
• There’s a strong tradition of repurposing breath mint containers. As the Wikipedia article on Altoids notes, “Altoids tins have also been popular with outdoor enthusiasts for many years as first-aid or mini survival kit containers. A name for these kits is Bug-Out Altoids Tins, or BOATs.” Photographers have turned Listerine PocketPaks containers into SD card carrying cases, and international travelers have used them as SIM card holders.
• There’s a word for the tendency to moisten, and it’s “hygroscopic.”

Questions on my mind:

• When did mint become the flavor of choice? What flavors signify “freshness” in countries beyond the U.S.?
• Did pocketability play a role in the shift toward blister packs and other slim packs for chewing gum?
• Under what conditions do mints melt? Is body heat enough to do it?
• How common is it to carry breath fresheners in one’s pocket vs. one’s purse? What does confectionary industry market research have to say about this?
• How did chewing gum come to be seen as a gender-neutral pursuit? In my searches, I found some hints that it chewing gum was coded as feminine as of the turn of the twentieth century.
• Where can I learn more about ancient Egyptian breath fresheners?

If you have clues to share on any of the above, hit me up via a Note or a Response here on Medium, or write to me at [email protected]