Mentos

Mentos is a chewy mint candy from the Netherlands. According to the company's history, the brothers Michael and Pierre Van Melle brought a recipe for soft fruit chews back from Poland in 1932. It led to Fruittella and then to a peppermint-flavoured candy that was later named Mentos. The first Mentos commercial aired on Dutch television in 1976.

Products

• Chewy mint and fruit candies, sold in rolls since the 1960s
• Mentos chewing gum, introduced in 2005

Who owns it

Mentos belongs to Perfetti Van Melle. The group was formed in March 2001, when the Italian company Perfetti, which had held 37 percent of Van Melle since 1991, took over all shares. Perfetti Van Melle is privately owned, has dual headquarters in Lainate near Milan (Italy) and Breda (Netherlands) and also owns Chupa Chups, Smint and Fruittella. Mentos is listed here under the Netherlands, where the brand was created.