Bubblegum Quality Comparison:
A Feasibility Report
Prepared by
Matt Wiegmann
Kelly Bearman
Katelyn McMinn
Kendall Murphy
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Table of Contents
Introduction
1
Methods for Testing Sugar Free Bubble Gum
1
Selecting Brands
1
Determining Criteria
1
Gathering Information
1
Results of Tests
2
Initial Flavor
2
Longevity of Flavor
3
Size of Bubble
3
Best Price Value
3
Conclusions
4
Recommendations
5
1
Introduction
STA is a college study group that is centered at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas.
In this feasibility study, STA will show which sugar free original flavor bubble gum is the best
option for college students in the North Texas area.
The purpose of this study was to determine which gum had the best value based on overall best
quality for the best price. The study measured not only bubble size and longevity of flavor, but
also the initial flavor of each product. The target audience for this report was based on both men
and women that are presently in college. In order research the product, STA completed a taste
test amongst college students, and plotted the results on a chart for easy comparison. Results
were compiled and a recommendation developed. In the report that follows, STA examines the
results of these options and provides the recommendation of the most cost effective option that
will allow consumers to get the most out of the product without sacrificing quality and client
satisfaction.
Methods of Testing Sugar Free Bubble Gum
Selecting Brands
Initially, the study team narrowed the choices of available sugar free bubble gum to those
available at the Chevron on Jupiter and George Bush in Plano, TX. The resulting focus was
therefore on Orbit, Stride, and Extra Bubble Gum.
Determining Criteria
The following criteria were selected as most important when choosing a bubble gum for the
purposes of this study:
 Initial flavor
 Longevity of flavor
 Size of the bubble
 Cost per gram
Investigation
Initial Flavor
The team conducted a taste test among students at the University of North Texas, in order to
compare the initial flavors of the selected gums. In the taste tests, we asked participants to judge
their preference in the initial flavor, fruitiness, sweetness, and aftertaste of the gum. We polled a
total of 24 people. Participants judged these factors on a sliding scale, indicating their personal
preference, with a score of five indicating they liked this aspect of the flavor a lot, and a score of
one indicating they did not care for this aspect.
2
Longevity of Flavor
For this test, the team members timed the length of the initial burst of flavor for each of the
bubble gums. The four of us chewed the gum while watching a timer; stopping the timer when
we noticed that the flavor of the gum itself had begun to fade.
Size of Bubble
This test was conducted by one team member, in order to maintain a standard of bubble blowing
capability. The team member chewed the gum until it became pliable enough to blow sufficient
bubbles. At this point, they blew ten bubbles, measuring each in cm. The largest bubble blown
during this test was recorded for the test.
Best Price Value
We evaluated this by comparing the cost of each pack of the gum. We noted the number of
servings in each pack of gum and the grams per serving. Following this, we multiplied the
grams in each piece by the number of pieces to get the total weight for each pack of gum.
Finally, we divided the cost by the total weight for each pack and got the total cost per gram of
each type of gum.
Results
To determine the best option, we evaluated the three gums on the criteria of initial flavor,
longevity of flavor, size of bubble, and price per gram.
Initial Flavor
To test the initial flavor, 24 random individuals were polled. In the test, participants were asked
to rate each gum on the basis of initial flavor, fruitiness, sweetness, and aftertaste. Using these
criteria, participants ranked each option on a scale of one through five, with one being the least
appealing and five being the most appealing. After compiling the scores, Orbit was the most
preferred in initial flavor of gum. Extra gum was a close second preference, even scoring higher
in the sweetness category. Stride gum performed the worst in all categories and was the least
preferred initial taste (See Table I).
Table I. Cumulative scores of polled individual’s responses
Options
Initial Flavor Fruitiness
Sweetness After Taste
Stride
80
72
69
59
Orbit
100
91
90
82
Extra
95
87
92
82
Totals
280
363
356
3
Longevity of Flavor
When testing the longevity of flavor, four individuals were selected to try each piece of gum and
record when the gum lost its initial flavor. Even though this category is highly subjective,
certain patterns did appear. Three of the four testers ranked Extra as having the longest lasting
flavor. Also these three testers found that Stride and Orbit had very similar times. Tester #3 has
similar times for the Stride gum test, but varied from the other testers in the times for Orbit and
Extra (see Table II).
Table II. Length of noticeable flavor tests
Options
Tester #1
Tester #2
Stride
Orbit
Extra
5:10
5:11
5:41
4:29
3:53
4:57
Tester #3
Tester #4
4:30
10:00
2:03
4:23
4:12
5:14
To determine which gum had the longest lasting flavor we assigned three points to the longest
times for each tester, down to one point for the shortest flavor times. Stride and Orbit both tied in
point scores and Extra was shown to have the largest longevity of flavor (see Table III).
Table III. Point representation for longevity of flavor tests
Options
Tester #1
Tester #2
Tester #3
Stride
Orbit
Extra
1
2
3
2
1
3
2
3
1
Tester #4
Total
2
1
3
7
7
10
Size of Bubble
In order to determine which gum could produce the largest bubble, we constructed a test where
one individual made multiple attempts to achieve the largest bubble for each brand. The results
were recorded after the tester believed the largest possible bubble was produced. In our test
Orbit produced the smallest bubble size, losing to the second place Stride by only half a
centimeter. Extra out performed both other gums and was able to achieve the largest bubble size
(see Table IV).
Table IV. Largest bubble size
Options
Bubble Size
Stride
Orbit
Extra
5.5 cm
5 cm
7 cm
Best Price Value
Since each brand cost the same amount, in order to determine which pack of gum held the best
value pricewise for consumers we chose to focus on the price per gram. Each pack of gum cost
4
$1.39. The nutritional information on each pack of gum lists the serving size in grams for each
slice as well as the slices in each package. Both Stride and Orbit have 14 slices of gum in each
pack, while Extra has 15 slices. We then multiplied the weight per piece as listed on the
nutrition information by the pieces in each pack to determine the total weight of each pack. After
determining that each pack of both Stride and Orbit contained a total of 26.6 grams of gum, we
could calculate that it costs a consumer five cents per gram. Extra gum had larger pieces and
more pieces per pack to net a total weight of 40.5 grams of gum per pack. This gave Extra a cost
of only three cents per gram, and therefore was the best value (see Table V.)
Table V. Statistics used to determine greatest price value
Options
Price per
Pack ($)
Pieces per
Pack
Weight per
piece (g)
Total
Weight (g)
Price per
Gram (¢)
Stride
Orbit
Extra
1.39
1.39
1.39
14
14
15
1.9
1.9
2.7
26.6
26.6
40.5
0.05
0.05
0.03
Final Conclusions
To determine which gum was superior in each category, we assigned points on a sliding scale of
one to three. The winner of each category was given three points, two points were given to
second place or in the case there was a tie, and one point was given to the last place of each
category. After adding the points in each category, we can see that Stride was the worst option,
Orbit the second, and Extra was the best gum option (see Table VI).
Table VI. Final point totals for methods tested
Options
Cost
Flavor
Length of
Flavor
Bubble Size
Total
Stride
Orbit
Extra
2
1
2
2
7
2
3
2
1
8
3
2
3
3
11
Conclusion
Each of the types of gum tested possessed strengths and weaknesses within our criteria of testing.
For example, Orbit was strongest in overall flavor but tied for worst longevity of flavor, tied as
the highest price per gram, and produced the smallest bubble size. Therefore, it did not maximize
its worth in a majority of areas and fell short in three of our four categories. Extra on the other
hand possessed the best price value per pack, was the highest in bubble size, and has the longest
flavor longevity. However, it was second in the initial flavor testing being less appealing to
consumers. Finally, Stride has the middle time for longevity, middle bubble size, highest price
5
per piece, and the lowest flavor rating. This makes it the most ordinary and unappealing of our
options. Our evaluation of our criteria led us to place more weight on the price and longevity of
flavor due to their appeal to college students. This made bubble size and the initial evaluation of
flavor secondary issues.
Recommendation
Based on our evaluation of the criteria we determined Extra to be the best choice when
purchasing gum from Chevron. This can be understood when examining its rating of price, taste,
longevity of flavor, and bubble size where it ranked 1st in all but overall taste where it ranked
2nd.