William Wrigley Jr.
The Inventor of Wrigley's Gum
The Wrigley Company was founded by William Wrigley Jr. in 1891 (64). Wrigley Jr. was a gifted salesman with enthusiasm, entrepreneurial foresight and a talent for winning over customers (65). While working for his father, Wrigley Jr. had the bright idea of offering free baking powder with the scouring soap he was selling (66). It was a great idea, and he soon realized that baking powder was becoming more popular than scouring soap. Wrigley Jr. decided he would sell baking powder instead, and was soon selling the baking powder with free gum, which did even better than the baking powder (67). He soon dropped the baking powder and started Wrigley's Gum.