Certs Classic Mints |
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| Product type | Breath mint |
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| Owner | Reboot Brands |
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| Country | United States |
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| Introduced | 1956; 70 years ago |
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| Discontinued | 2018; 8 years ago, brought back in 2025 |
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| Previous owners | |
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| Tagline | - "Two Mints in One"
- "The Right Amount of Mint"
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| Website | certs.com |
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Certs is a brand of breath mint that is noted for the phrase "two mints in one" in its marketing. The original Certs were disc-shaped without a hole and sold in roll packaging similar to Life Savers and Polo.
Certs were one of the first mints to be nationally marketed in the United States and were a fixture at American drug stores and convenience stores from their debut on the market in 1956 until they were discontinued in 2018. Reboot Brands acquired the Certs brand in 2025 and relaunched it in partnership with Nature's Stance.[1][2]
Certs were developed by American Chicle and introduced into the North American market in 1956.[3] The "Certs" name originated from its approval by Good Housekeeping (as in "certified by Good Housekeeping"), a magazine that, then as now, bestowed the Good Housekeeping Seal on products that pass its quality and reliability tests.[4] In 1962, American Chicle was acquired by Warner-Lambert.[5] Warner-Lambert placed its confectionery brands, which included Certs, Chiclets, Dentyne, Halls, and Trident, into its new Adams division (named after the founder of American Chicle).[6] In 1988, sugar-free Certs Mini-Mints sweetened with Nutrasweet were introduced as a Tic Tac competitor.[7] In 1997, Certs Cool Mint Drops were introduced in response to Altoids' rapid growth during the 1990s.[8] Pfizer acquired Warner-Lambert in 2000.[5]Citing confectionery as a "noncore" business,[6] Pfizer sold its Adams portfolio to Cadbury for $4.2 billion[9] in 2002, after Cadbury beat Nestlé in a bidding war.[10][11]Mondelez International, then called Kraft Foods, made a hostile takeover of Cadbury in 2010 for $19.5 billion.[12] The Certs name ceased to be mentioned by Mondelez as one of its brands in December 2013.[13][14]
Certs were classified as mints, but they contained no oils of any mint plant. Instead, as has long been advertised, the mints contain "Retsyn", a trademarked name for a mixture of copper gluconate, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, and flavoring. It is the copper gluconate in Retsyn which gave Certs its signature green flecks.
Certs were originally shaped as simple circular tablets with beveled edges and "CERTS" embossed with the "C" enlarged and surrounding "ERTS". The shape later changed to have a toroidal bulge on each face without a hole; "CERTS" and "RETSYN" were debossed near the circumference.
Certs Classic Mints are available in peppermint and spearmint.
Certs Mini-Mints, and later as Certs Powerful Mints, were small Tic-Tac-like mints available in peppermint, spearmint, and wintergreen.
Certs Cool Mint Drops, described as a "breath drop", were medium-sized oval-shaped mints. They came in flavors named "cinnamint", "freshmint", and peppermint, and fruit flavor.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Certs was heavily advertised on American television with a famous campaign featuring two attractive young people earnestly arguing over the proper classification of the mints. The one participant would assert, "It's a breath mint!" The other would assay a rebuttal by stating, "It’s a candy mint!" This taxonomic dilemma would finally be resolved by the unseen announcer, who would achieve synthesis by explaining that Certs was "Two, two, two mints in one!" Saturday Night Live lampooned the ads with a fictitious product called "Shimmer", with Gilda Radner's argument "It's a floor wax!" vs. Dan Aykroyd's "It's a dessert topping, you cow!" being resolved by announcer Chevy Chase's declaration that "New Shimmer's a floor wax and a dessert topping!".[15] Indeed, the phrase "Two, two, two [insert almost any word or short phrase here] in one" remained an American idiomatic expression into the 21st century.[citation needed]
In 1999, the United States Customs Service classified Certs as a candy mint for tariff purposes; candy was taxed differently from oral hygiene products. In the ensuing suit before the United States Court of International Trade, Cadbury introduced expert testimony that Certs stimulate the flow of saliva, thus flushing bad odors from the mouth, and that its flavors and oils mask bad breath. But the court ruled that, since Certs did not contain antibacterial ingredients, they were, indeed, simply a candy mint. This ruling was, however, overturned at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, making Certs legally a breath mint.[16]
- ^ "CERTS® Mints and Gum Return to Shelves Through Nature's Stance Partnership".
- ^ "Reboot Brands Launches with Certs Breath Mint Acquisition".
- ^ Schwertly, Scott. "The History of Breath Mints". Ethos3.com. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
- ^ "How They Came Up with the Name Certs". San Diego Reader. October 23, 1997. Archived from the original on 2023-07-15. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "2000: Pfizer Joins Forces with Warner-Lambert". Pfizer. Archived from the original on 2023-07-15. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Cadbury Adams USA LLC". Encyclopedia.com. Archivedfrom the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
- ^ "Breath Mint". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-01. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
- ^ Mehegan, Sean (June 16, 1997). "Mint Marketers Chase Altoids". Adweek. New York City. Archived from the original on 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
- ^ "Cadbury Chews Up $4.2bn Gum Maker". CNN. London. December 17, 2002. Archived from the original on 2023-07-15. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
- ^ "Cadbury Secure Deal to Buy Adams". The Guardian. December 17, 2002. Archived from the original on 2014-09-10. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
- ^ "Cadbury to Acquire Adams". Convenience Store News. London. December 17, 2002. Archived from the original on 2023-07-15. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
- ^ Roberts, Dan (January 19, 2010). "Cadbury's Board Agrees £12bn Sale to Kraft". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2014-05-28. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
- ^ "Our Brand Family". Mondelez International. November 1, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
- ^ "Brand Family". Mondelez International. Archived from the original on 2013-12-19. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
- ^ Shimmer Ad – Saturday Night Live on YouTube
- ^ "No. 04-1489". Warner-Lambert Company v. United States. United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; caselaw.findllaw.com. May 11, 2005. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
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