As notable for its quick loss of flavor as its colorful zebra stripes, kids have always gone crazy for Fruit Stripe gum.

Big League Chew had just wrapped a call about a deal with Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, the first Major Leaguer to have his likeness on a gum pouch.

When Brian Kiriba arrived back in his native Kenya after spending most of his youth abroad, he discovered his friends were into chewing khat—a mild stimulant East Africans have used for centuries.