Chewing Gum Consultant

Professional Chewing gum industry meeting point

SCENTED GUM – Choward’s (USA) 16/04/2018

Filed under: Market & Fairs — Joan Mestres @ 10:10 AM
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Here is a classic: Choward’s Gum has been in the market for a long time in the US, but is a bramd that does not appear in the statistics, overshadowed by the giants Wrigley, Mondelez, Hershey and Perfetti.

Interestingly, it is a gum with sugar, which is not common at all. Still some classics with sugar stay in the market (i am thinking “Doublemint”, “Big Red”, …), but as you know, it is a segment that has been showing a steady decrease for many years.

 

I invite you to visit the web of the company: www.chowardcompany.com  and I leave you with a photo of the product:

 

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CHEW POD – USA/Canada 13/04/2018

Filed under: Market & Fairs,New product — Joan Mestres @ 10:10 AM
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One more information about functional gum.

I wrote about this company about a year ago (link).

Now it seems that they decided to target the US market. Of course, with such an interesting functional gum for sure there is an opportunity. I attach the article fom Confectiomery News (link) so you can read the full information. It seems that the current formulation has changed slightly from the one I mentioned one year ago (e.g. In the “Energy on Demand” version the guaraná has disappeared and there is vitamin B5 instead). What has not changed is that the article still mentions the same two products that I described: “energy on Demand” and ” Sleep on demand”. The third product of the range “Focus on demand” is not mentioned.

 

What I find interesting in the article is the specific mention to the e-commerce and the intention of the company to fully develop this sales channel.

Also, it mentions the trend of “sugarfree” and “aspartamefree”, which is useful to keep in mind.

 

ICE CUBES – Hershey 12/04/2018

Filed under: New product — Joan Mestres @ 5:14 PM
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Today I saw these news about one of my favourites gum in the market: “Ice cubes” and I wanted to share it with you.

Hershey is going to launch a special edition of “glittering gum”. I am looking forward to seeing this product. The article from Confectionery News (see link) gives also figures about the growth of this particular brand, which is doing far much better than any of their counterparts.

I think it is a pity that Hershey does not promote more this gum segment, as their focus is in chocolate. Some days ago I was in their shop in Times Square/NY and none of the staff there seemed to be aware of this excelent product of their own company. Finally, I could find the “Ice Cubes” in a small, hidden corner of the shop.

 

Tic Tac Gum – Ferrero 08/06/2017

Filed under: New product — Joan Mestres @ 3:40 PM
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More on this thread that has already a few posts. I read the news to day that the product will be launched in the US next year, 2018. This is a move that shows how serious the company is about this product. As far as I know it is available now only in the Italian market.

You have here the link to the article of www.confectionerynews.com that mention this expansion plan.

 

Project 7 – USA 30/06/2014

Filed under: New product — Joan Mestres @ 4:20 PM
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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

 

P7CoconutLimeGum_large P7PorchLemonadeGum_large

 

GUM AND VITAMINS 19/06/2014

Filed under: New product — Joan Mestres @ 5:48 PM
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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 

vg.SPORT.3-D

 

Natural gum 28/04/2014

Filed under: New product — Joan Mestres @ 5:38 PM
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The other day I came across “Simply Gum”, and I thought it would be good to mention it here.

This product claims to be the only 100% natural gum in the USA. It contains: Natural chicle, organic dried cane juice, organic vegetable glycerin, organic sunflower lecithin, organic rice flour and natural flavor.

You can learn more in their web-site: www.simplygum.com

But they are also present in Facebook: www.facebook.com/SimplyGum

and in Twitter: www.twitter.com/SimplyGum

And here are a couple of links to other websites that mention the product: Kickstarter, Examiner,  Ecofriendlyusa.

It comes originally in cinnamon flavor but it seems that they are expanding the range to licorice and ginger.

We can find more and more of these products that claim organic/natural/bio/… which is a clear trend in our society. They still take a very tiny share of the market due to different reasons: Sometimes quality, sometimes limited marketing (and financial) power in front of the big guys, sometimes the consumer is not aware (or is not ready to pay more, or finds it difficult to find, …). It will be interesting to see the evolution of such brands in the near future.

 

Chocolat Frey in North America. Sweet works/Oak Leaf 24/04/2014

Filed under: Market & Fairs — Joan Mestres @ 12:01 PM
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The swiss company Chocolat Frey (I posted about it in the past) has recently acquired Sweetworks. I also posted about this American company which owns well-known brands such as Oak Leaf (located in Canada) and Niagara Chocolates.

The companies have chocolate production and this acquisition will be a direct way for the Swiss to enter the US market. However here we focus on gum, and Chocolat Frey is specialist in sugar free gum production (with own brands and for private label), while Oak Leaf is strong in gum balls (sugared). They are then in strong contrast with each other. It will be interesting to see how this synergy evolves in the future. Will Chocolat Frey coated pellets enter the US market in a stronger way and compete with the giants Wrigley and Mondelez? Are we going to see more sugar free gum balls? …

 

“New” product – Marijuana 20/08/2012

Filed under: New product — Joan Mestres @ 4:10 PM
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I received an article informing about a new chewing gum in the US. This time, the novelty that is announced is the active ingredient: Marijuana. According to the article it will be marketed Over-The-Counter, claiming health benefits.
What is more arguable is the declaration that this will be “the first cannabinoid based chewing gum to hit the market”… I have samples, bought in Amsterdam about 10 years ago that claim to contain marihuana as well. Of course, I have not analyzed to confirm if the claim is true, but in this case this “new” US product will not be the first one to be launched.

In any case, this development falls in the category of “functional gum”, added-value product, which tries to offer added benefits to the consumer.We find many launchings in this direction every year, which is a clear confirmation of this market trend.

http://www.confectionerynews.com/Markets/Medical-marijuana-chewing-gum-set-for-US-debut

 

 

 

 

New Product, more! 13/08/2012

Filed under: New product — Joan Mestres @ 2:49 PM
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Some days ago I was mentioning an interesting product from Wrigley in Australia. Today it is Cadbury’s turn, and they have a new product in the US named “ID“. This gum, targeted to teenagers has two main characteristics: The first is a printed surface with different designs (there are some products in the market with this feature but none of them has been launched recently). The second interesting characteristic is a packaging with a magnet in the sleeve so it can be properly closed.

I attach below a link where you can read more about this product:

http://www.just-food.com/news/kraft-looks-to-boost-gum-sales-with-new-brand_id119104.aspx

and this one that discusses about this product and some other novelties in the chewing gum market:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/story/2012-05-04/wacky-chewing-gum/54818846/1