Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed how bubblegum companies have stepped up their game when it comes to packaging? While chewing some Wrigley's 5 the realization hit me that gum packaging has undergone a serious evolution. From just plain wrappers and childlike graphics, packaging is now stylish, sophisticated and costly.

Take the packaging for 5, which is constructed of luxurious heavy weight matte black stock, and features pretty much every special printer effect possible. Spot gloss, complex die cuts, embossing, foil graphics...it's all there. To round out the sophistication, each stick of gum is removed from the package like a cigarette. Like every other product out there, gum has caught up, and now expects you to be making a lifestyle statement by whatever brand you flaunt.