Getting ready one more year to go to Cologne and visit ISM and Prosweets. i will inform you, as usual, about the novelties I find there. I invite you to visit older posts in this blog to find the different reports about different brands and products that I found in 2013 and 12014.
As coating the gum is always one of the most critical, and at the same time, one of the most important, steps of the production process, I thought this news appeared yesterday would be of your interest.
The new patent, filed by Perfetti, claims that there is no use of the usual wax or shellac at the final stage of the coating. Instead, this patent, describes the use of powder at the final stage of the coating. By doing so they obtain what they call “satin effect”. Here you have the link to the article published by Confectionery news.
If we review the usual coating process, carried out inside a coating pan which turns continuously, we find three main steps:
1- Initial stage /Gumming. When we add a layer of gumming agent (gum arabic) on the surface of the gum. The reason for this is to fill the holes on the rough surface of the gum and to help the next layer to adhere to the gum center.
2- Engrossing stage. Where we add several syrup charges to the gum center. The syrup is a solution of sugar (or poliol in case of sugar free products) with water. When the syrup is added all the centers get wet (there is “distribution” phase) and then they are dried with air, so the water evaporates and the sugar/poliol remains on the surface. This is repeated many times until the producer obtains the required weight of coating in the piece. Choosing the right poliol and drying the surface in a proper way will result on a crunchy coating, which is what the final consumer appreciates. This engrossing stage is time-consuming so all producers try to optimize the procedure in a way that the maximum amount of coating is obtained in the shortest possible time. One of the options is the use of syrup with higher concentration of solids (sugar or poliol). In this case, as we are adding more solid material every time we add the syrup, the coating is formed faster. However this will result on a rough surface which is not interesting. More diluted syrup will give a soother and nicer surface, but the coating time will be longer. Another option is to add the syrup faster (more additions per unit of time), but as the syrup wets the centers they become sticky and this practice has the risk of obtaining many pieces that stick together one to the other, which of course is not acceptable.
3- Final stage /Polishing. Once we have the coating layer that we want, we use shellac to seal and protect the gum piece and wax to make it shine. Usually this stage is not a major problem and does not require much time or expertise.
This final stage is the one that the Patent eliminates. Instead, it uses the addition of powder at the final stage. The powder will help dry the last addition of syrup. In fact this technique is used on what is called “soft coating”, which is used for other products. This technique (drying with powder) does not result on a crunchy product but reduces the coating time considerably. Jellies are coated at the engrossing stage with this “soft coating” technique because they do not need to be crunchy. This procedure described in the patent uses it only at the last stage, so I do not know the effect it will have on the final result. For sure the product will be less shiny (that’s why the name “satin effect”) due to the lack of wax. I do not know how this will affect the acceptance by the consumers, who usually prefer shiny and crunchy chewing gums.
I copy here the link to the news published to day in www.confectionerynews.com about the legal battle between Wrigley and Perfetti over the “WTF” trademark.
Wrigley considers that “WTF” can somehow overlap or coincide with their well-known brand “Winterfresh”. I have no other news about this issue other than the one appeared in this article, so I better just invite you to read it here
I would like to sure with you today this article published by Confectionerynews.com about the effect of sugar free gum on gingivitis. In particular the study mentions xylitol and maltitol gums, not gums with other bulk sweeteners.
This is the link to the article: Gingivitis and chewing gum
and this is the link to the clinical study itself: International Journal of Dental Hygiene
One more study to add in the list of oral care benefits of the chewing gum.
Next 6th November I will be presenting one more year during the “Sugar Confectionery Course” organized by Leatherhead Food Research. This course takes place from 4th until 6th November in Leatherhead (near London, UK).
Like almost every year since 1998, I will talk about chewing gum technology and, most important, take the questions from the audience and discuss any issue around the chewing gum industry that is of interest. I always find this experience very enjoyable.
I hope to see you some of you there!
Extract from their web-site (which you can access clicking the link above)
“This essential three-day course provides a practical knowledge of the basic principles in the diverse area of sugar confectionery manufacture. You will benefit from the knowledge of industry experts, acquiring the ability to predict the effects of formulation changes and process modifications on products and apply that knowledge in troubleshooting situations.
Sugar Confectionery Production encourages interaction and includes several hands-on practical sessions as a key part of the course where delegates will prepare confectionery products and learn to characterise them. Designed to cover all aspects of confectionery production, this well-established course will benefit personnel from different backgrounds wishing to gain or improve their knowledge of confectionery systems.”
Tasty chewing gum that prevents tooth decay for impoverished children around the world.
A good initiative with chewing gum!
5 students of the University of Pennsylvania founded Sweet Bites Gum some time ago. The company aims to support the dental health of children in areas where there is not the required infrastructure. They are focusing for the time being in India and launched the project in Bangalore (although planning to expand to other areas like the Phillippines as well). They are distributing xylitol gum (50.000 pieces so far!) among the children in these communities. The wrapper of the gum includes a text with a message reinforcing good habits related to oral care.
They are trying to scale up their activities by means of crowfunding. I invite you to check their website and learn more about this exceptional project, which is competing for the Hulk Price for Social entrepreneurship.
This is the web site;
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sweet-bites-cavity-fighting-xylitol-gum
Some days ago I came across this interesting functional gum, which uses the well-known Bach flower remedies in chewing gum format.
It illustrates what I have been mentioning several times in this web-site, which is the importance of functional gums. The growth in this category has been a fact since a few years and all gum producers should consider this segment in a very serious way in case they are not doing it yet.
In this example, the company LemonPharma (headquartered in Germany) offers 3 different versions of chewing gum:
1- For emergencies
2- Energy
3- Concentration
4- Self-Confidence
The product is presented in plastic bottles containing 60 g (approx. 40 units) of coated pillows. They have a nice crunch and chew. They do not contain aspartame and are produced only with xylitol as sweetener.
I leave you here the link to the web-site of the company for those of you who want more info: www.lemonpharma.com
Let me write today about a very special company: “Project 7”.
What makes them special is their mission, which is summarized in the company’s motto: “Products for good!”. Project 7 was founded in 2008 in the US and it is trying to make a difference in the world since then. They support 7 needs (health, environment, housing, hunger, thirst, education and peace) and the purchases of their products go directly to support one of them, by co-operating with different NGO and associations. More in particular, each purchase provides funds to projects evolving planting trees, provide shelter for those affected by natural disasters, provide meals, bring drinking water to those in need, deliver anti-malaria medications, give education to children in developing nations and support anti-bullying programs in US schools.
The company has grown amazingly since 2008 and now they are present in many shops and department stores. Some of their retail partners are: American Airlines, Walgreens, Safeway, Sixflags,.. They have appeared in the news and articles extensively as well.
The offer contains gum and mints but here we are interested about their gum, which comes in six appealing flavors: Birthday cake, coconut lime, fresh & breezy, front porch lemonade, mint julep and peppermint vanilla. It has been awarded the “Most Innovative New Product” at the 2014 “Sweets & Snacks Expo” in Chicago.
I invite you to learn more about them by checking the website: www.project7.com
Today I want to talk about a functional gum. You know I have special interest on all these gums that provide some added benefits, so I am eager to taste and to talk about them.
Vitamingum® , from the USA, comes in two different versions:
– VITAMINGUM Fresh. This product is packed in blisters with 12 coated pillows each. It comes in three flavors (cinnamon, spearmint and peppermint) and contains 12 vitamins (!). They make up to 10% of the Recommended Daily Value (RDV) per serving. The vitamins are A, C, D, E and a range of Bs, plus folic acid and BiotinThe taste has good lasting and the chew is nice.
-VITAMINGUM Sport. This one comes in hollow balls packed in flow pack (each pack contains 4 balls) or in pouches containing 18 balls. There are three different flavors (grape, raspberry and bubble gum). The chew is surprisingly soft for a hollow ball and the cud volume is really big. It contains 25% of the RDV of the same vitamins as Vitamingum, so it is the “stronger version” of the former. In theory, by chewing only 4 of these balls per day, we can get the level of vitamins that is recommended.
Both products use Sucralose and Neotame as sweeteners and, in fact, use the claim of being “Aspartame free”.
It has been in the market for some time already, so it not really a new launching, but it is, anyway, a good example of how to make good functional products.
The product is based on a patent and sold by the company Vitaball, Inc. from Kentucky, and you can learn more in their website: www.chewvitamingum.com
Confectionerynews.com published recently about a new type of gum developed by the Danish company FERTIN PHARMA.
It is called “Vision gum” and it contains Lutein, zinc and vitamins A, B2 and E. The gum was presented during the Vitafoods exhibition fair that took place in Geneva (Switzerland) from 6th until 8th May.
The company wants to be very careful bout the claims associated with this chewing gum, and states that it “helps maintain good vision” but in any case “cures bad vision”.
I must say that, as far as I know, it is the first chewing gum going in the direction of “healthy vision”. There are and have been gums in the market with vitamins (Vitamin C is the most popular but there are products with A, E and others as well), but it is the first one that combines the vitamins with Lutein. So it is good to see the range of functional gums expanding.
I attach here the link to the article in case you want to read more about it. Vision gum
Chewing Gum Consultant 