Every piece of bubble gum is technically a chewing gum, but the reverse isn't true, and the difference comes down to one lab accident in 1928.
Chicle, Curtis, and the start of commercial gum
Long before branded gum existed, Central American cultures chewed chicle, the sap of the sapodilla tree, for centuries. Commercial chewing gum in its modern form began in 1848, when John B. Curtis started selling flavoured spruce gum in the US. William Wrigley Jr. later built an entire empire on the format, founding the Wrigley Company in 1891 and turning gum into a global industry.
The 1928 accident that created bubble gum
Bubble gum didn't exist until 1928, when Walter Diemer, an accountant (not even a chemist) at the Fleer Chewing Gum Company, started experimenting with gum recipes in his spare time. He landed on a formula that was less sticky and far more elastic than standard chewing gum, and the only food colouring he had to hand happened to be pink — which is why bubble gum has been pink ever since, more by accident than design. Fleer named it Dubble Bubble.
What actually makes bubble gum stretchier
The core difference is in the gum base. Standard chewing gum uses a firmer blend of gum resins designed mainly to hold flavour and provide a satisfying chew. Bubble gum recipes add extra elastomers, typically latex-based rubber compounds, which give the gum the stretch and elasticity needed to be blown into a bubble without splitting.
The UK's biggest gum brands
Wrigley's remains the dominant name on UK shelves, with Extra, Airwaves and Juicy Fruit all part of the same stable, alongside Hubba Bubba for bubble gum specifically. Explore the range in our Wrigley's collection.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between chewing gum and bubble gum?
Bubble gum contains extra elastomers, most commonly latex-based rubber compounds, that make it stretchier and more elastic than standard chewing gum, which is what allows it to be blown into bubbles without tearing.
Who invented chewing gum and bubble gum?
Modern chewing gum traces back to John B. Curtis, who sold the first commercial gum in the US in 1848, while bubble gum was invented specifically in 1928 by Walter Diemer, an accountant at the Fleer Chewing Gum Company who was experimenting with gum recipes in his spare time.
Why is bubble gum pink?
Walter Diemer's original 1928 bubble gum, Dubble Bubble, was pink purely because pink was the only food dye he had on hand in the lab that day — it wasn't a deliberate branding choice, but it became the standard colour for bubble gum ever since.