CHICAGO - Wrigley, a subsidiary of Mars Inc., hopes to tap into the popularity of energy products with its new Alert Energy Caffeine Gum.

The product is aimed at consumers age 25-49 who may have "dropped the gum-chewing habit of their younger years, while tapping into the rapidly growing energy products market," notes the Chicago Tribune.

Each pack contains 8 pieces of gum that contain 40 milligrams of caffeine, which is roughly the caffeine content of about half a cup of coffee. Alert comes in fruit and mint flavors, but has a bitter, medicinal taste, according to the company:

"The taste expectations are different for someone who wants to chew gum for energy than for someone who chews gum for flavor. If you come at this as a piece of gum that you chew for enjoyment it's not going to deliver on that," Casey Keller, president of the North America division of Wrigley, told the Wall Street Journal. "What we found from energy [drink] consumers is that they're used to this taste. It's symbolic of efficacy." He adds: "Kids won't like the taste??We've taken great pains to make this different than traditional gum."