That company, although small, provided the basis for Shin's first fortune, and within a year he had amassed enough capital to launch a new company, dedicated to the production of chewing gum. Introduced by American soldiers following the war, chewing gum quickly became popular among Japanese consumers eager to embrace all things American. In 1948, Shin founded Lotte Co., with ten employees. Shin's choice of the company's name came from his admiration for Goethe's Sorrows of Young Werther, particularly the character of Charlotte. Using natural chicle, Lotte launched a number of chewing gum brands, including Orange Gum, Lotte Gum, Cowboy Gum, Mable Gum, and the highly popular Baseball Gum. The company backed up its products with strong advertising support, becoming one of the first in Japan to sponsor television programs, as well as its own baseball team and other events, such as beauty pageants. In the mid-1950s, the company sponsored the country's Antarctic Research Expedition Team, developing a chewing gum for the effort's training program. The company then launched the gum, known as Cool Mint Gum, for the consumer market, in 1956.