In 1892, Wrigley Jr. began packaging chewing gum with each can of baking powder. The chewing gum eventually became more popular than the baking powder and Wrigley's reoriented the company to produce the gum. Wrigley's gum was traditionally made out of chicle, which was sourced largely from Latin America. In the 1960s, Wrigley's changed the composition of its chewing gum from using chicle to synthetic rubber, which was cheaper to manufacturer.

On April 28, 2008, Mars announced that it would acquire Wrigley and merged with its chocolate segment in 2016.