The History of Breath Mints

• 03/01/2018
• admin
• 1

In this blog, I’ll be delving into the history of the Breath Mint and the journey it has undergone to reach the modern day and into the pocket of the consumer!

The Influence of the Egyptians:

The breath mint has undergone a diverse and convoluted journey to get to the modern day. The first ever recorded evidence of a “breath mint” is dated back to the Ancient Egyptian times, where there were breath fresheners comprising of, myrrh, cinnamon, frankincense and honey, boiled into the shape of a pellet making it possibly the origin of the “breath mint”. It was used as a way to combat the tooth decay, from a diet of grit and flour-based foods. Evidence of this was found, lodged in the mouths of decaying mummies, suggesting that it may serve the dual purpose to improve the smell of the deceased also.

The effect that the Victorians had:

During the Victorian Era, there was a revolution in multiple aspects of both industries, as well as social etiquette. Poor smelling breath at this time was a major social faux pas, thus began the venture into remedies and medicines to resolve this. Reserved for the upper social elite it was common practice to utilise the newly conceived “Altoid”. Initially used as a lozenge to relax the stomach. However, it was flavoured with peppermint leaves and became way more an effective breath freshener as opposed to a herbal remedy for ailments.

The Breath Mint as we know it today:

An iteration of breath mint the modern era as we know it was first conceived in America in the 1950’s and was known as the “American Chicle” or a “Cert”. Allowing it to pave the way for the breath mint become more of a commercial confection. Due to the Cert creating the standardised for the modern day mint. This was highly oppositional to the previous usage of it being simply a medicine to cure to bad breath. The 1980’s was the true era for the breath mint to take off, with the conception of the sugar-free breath mint, complete with a patented shape, size and consistency. It provided a healthy way to freshen one’s breath, whilst simultaneously retaining oral hygiene. This led to an eventual boom in popularity in years to come, in 1998, “the breath-freshener market grew by 13% in one year, while all other gum and candy expanded by only 2.3%”. According to the National Confectioners Association. This ultimately sparked a knock-on effect, with a huge influx of interest in the mint as a promotional confection, due to its size and versatility.

This influx in favouring mints over other sweets has affected the current day greatly, in regards to promotional merchandising, with the promotional industry coming up with all kinds of innovative ways of marketing such as with the simple yet effective promotional Mint Card a timeless, wallet-sized classic. An alternative is the more recently developed Mint Twister. To increase the longevity of your marketing campaign with a mint container which also acts as a unique fidget product, to cement your branding in the eyes of your customers.

For a variety of promotional confectionery shop at Promo Parrot!