What You Need to Know About Functional Chewing Gums

| New Trend in Casual Snacks: Functional Chewing Gum

With the increasing focus on natural health, more and more people are turning towards functional chewing gums as a way to improve their overall wellbeing. But what exactly are functional chewing gums? Why would someone choose to chew them instead of regular gums? Here’s what you need to know about this increasingly popular trend.

What Are Functional Chewing Gums?

Functional chewing gums are gums that contain additional ingredients with specific health benefits. For example, some types of functional chewing gum contain vitamins, minerals, green tea extract, and other nutrients that can help support digestive health or provide an energy boost. Other types of functional gum may contain probiotics for improved gut health or essential oils for better oral hygiene. In essence, these gums combine the benefits of traditional chewing gum with the added bonus of additional nutritional value.

How Does It Work?

When you chew functional gum, the actives in the product are released into your mouth and absorbed by your body. Depending on the type of gum and its intended purpose, these ingredients can have various effects on your physical and mental wellbeing. For example, caffeine-infused gums can provide an energy boost within minutes while probiotic gums can help improve digestion over time with regular use.

Benefits of Functional Chewing Gums

The primary benefit of functional chewing gums is that they enable people to get the nutritional support they need without having to swallow pills or drink shakes. For those who don’t like taking supplements or who find it difficult to fit them into their daily routine, functional chewing gum provides an easy solution that can be done while multi-tasking throughout the day. Additionally, because these kinds of gums deliver beneficial ingredients directly into your mouth and saliva, they can provide faster results than traditional supplement forms do.

Recently, organic food retailer Natural Grocers released its top 10 nutrition trends for 2023, predicting the key directions for functional foods in the new year, among which "Beat Fatigue" is on the list. With increasing social competition and the fast pace of life, everyone is almost inevitably under stress and in a state of physical and mental exhaustion. Therefore, the food to refresh and relieve stress has become the immediate need of people.

After energy drinks, coffee has become the first choice of many working people. But the time consuming coffee brewing and the bitter taste that makes many people frown, so more and more brands began to explore more time-saving and better palatability of the product form - from multi-changing snack bars, to the new favorite beverage sparkling water, and even small chewing gum.

Even if they follow the "sugar reduction trend" and launch various sugar-free series, the long-term solidified product image of chewing gum still makes it difficult for consumers to regard it as a healthy snack. Nowadays, differentiation from the function has become an innovative idea for many brands. A small piece of chewing gum, in addition to fresh breath, get a little happiness and satisfaction, what else can do? How about making it a "quick charge" for working people? Small and portable, can be consumed anywhere, flavor can be varied, there is a better energy carrier than it?

American energy drink company Liquid Core launched Energy Gum a few years ago, so that chewing gum and refreshing energy goodies linked together, creating a new concept of "energy gum".

With a xylitol gum shell wrapped around a caffeine core, Liquid Core's Energy Gum is a breakthrough attempt at cross-category fusion innovation between gum and coffee. During chewing, the natural caffeine and B vitamins in the center are immediately released, giving the body a quick energy boost that is about twice as effective as an energy drink or coffee.

In addition to a more powerful energy boost, this product containing natural caffeine extracted from raw coffee beans is also more popular among the health awakening crowd than most functional drinks in terms of health attributes. Although it has a "refreshing" effect and unique taste, most energy drinks are not absolutely healthy. Because of the low cost and high production capacity of synthetic caffeine, artificial caffeine is still the preferred choice for a significant portion of energy drinks on the market.

Although artificial caffeine has a strong uplifting effect, it is often more exhausting and draining after the euphoria. Many health-conscious consumers have become wary of energy drinks. The natural caffeine contained in Liquid Core Energy Gum can gradually and slowly stimulate the nerves, and the stimulation is maintained for a long period of time, and it is milder, harmless and non-addictive, and safer.

In addition to natural caffeine, Liquid Core Energy Gum is also fortified with a variety of B vitamins. Each piece of gum contains 16mg of vitamin B3 (niacin), 3.2mg of vitamin B6 and 12.6μg of vitamin B12, all of which meet our NRV (Nutrient Reference Value) daily recommended intake standards and are much higher than the average vitamin drink.

In the selection of sweetening ingredients, Liquid Core Energy Gum is health-oriented, with xylitol obtained from birch or corn as the source of sweetness. Xylitol is similar in sweetness to regular sugar, but with 40 percent fewer calories, making each chewing gum contain only five calories.

A recent study concluded that when healthy adults drink energy drinks containing 320 mg of caffeine, they can have an impact on the cardiovascular system with abnormal heart rates and elevated blood pressure. This is not only related to caffeine, but the high amount of sugar contained in energy drinks as well as other stimulants are also considered to be one of the triggers that exacerbate cardiovascular load. Therefore, the metabolic differences between different ways of consuming caffeine have prompted the "health awakening" to look for a more pure caffeine carrier.

Liquid Core Energy Gum provides consumers with a quick "recharge" and stress reduction experience. Its consumption scenario is located in the crazy fat-burning exercise and fitness, thinking at the desk, holding the breath, the brain running at high speed after meetings and exams, chewing an energy gum will be an excellent choice to relax after a "fierce battle".

The Global Chewing Gum Market is Leaning Towards Functional

With the trend of functional foods becoming everyday, chewing gum is being pinned with more and more functional claims. Functional chewing gum has become a compelling segment in the confectionery category. According to data released by Industry Research, driven by increased demand for nicotine gum in smoking cessation treatment and growing awareness of the benefits of functional gum, it is expected to increase to $6,716.2 million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 5.5% during the period. Among them, North America leads with a share of over 35%. Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing regional market, with a CAGR of 10.1% over the next six years.

In addition to the demand for smoking cessation, oral health, weight management, energy supplementation to improve lifestyle are also the main functional types of chewing gum.

As mentioned earlier, sports, adventure, extreme challenges, these have become the norm in the lives of the public in Europe and the United States, the demand for various types of energy-based food has always occupied a major share of the sports nutrition and functional food market. Because excessive caffeine intake can cause anxiety, poor digestion, muscle breakdown, nausea, high blood pressure and other side effects, food management and health agencies around the world have drafted regulations and standards for the use of caffeine in energy supplements. This has also given new opportunities for the development of energy gum, as the product form of gum is more conducive to controlling the intake of caffeine compared to energy drinks.

Due to the good inclusiveness of the gum base for functional ingredients and the high absorption rate of transoral intake, chewing gum has become a test product for more functional claims.

According to the report "Global Energy Chewing Gum Market" published by an overseas research firm, professional-oriented sports and fitness and mass exercise are expected to be the two most prominent consumption scenarios for energy chewing gum in 2023 as compared to 2016. Demand for research (study and brain-based work) and business is still niche, but growing at a significant rate.

Below, we have several new functional chewing gum products to get a closer look at the new vitality brought by functionalization to this traditional category.

1、Calm Chewing Gum (Bubble Calm)

BubbleCalm Sugar-free Gum contains herbal extracts such as valerian root and chamomile, as well as γ-aminobutyric acid, an important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the human body, which has the effect of calming and soothing sleep. Nowadays, γ-aminobutyric acid is widely used in sleep-aid water, sleep aid yogurt, this chewing gum makes sleep aid more simple and easy!

2、Immune Chewing Gum (MIGHTY GUM)

Traditional chewing gum production mixes raw materials into an industrial mixer, rubs to generate heat until it becomes chewing gum dough, cools and then shapes and packs it, but if vitamins are put in the quality will be affected by high temperature, MIGHTY GUM uses a new process for cold environment gentle mixing and then low-temperature compression and shaping. To make vitamin intake even easier, Mighty Gum blends vitamins with gum and introduces a mint-flavored immune-enhancing gum. The product contains 11 immune-enhancing substances, including vitamins, zinc, elderberry berries, reishi, toon, astragalus and other adaptogenic ingredients, making it easy for consumers to get essential nutrients.

3、Game Chewing Gum

The rapid development of network technology has brought about a sea change in the world of gaming, end-game and hand games continue to seize the minds of the new generation of consumers, but long-term exposure to electronic devices, the impact on the body, especially vision, is also a growing concern. ADATA XPG took advantage of the situation to launch Gaming Gum, to solve the health problems caused by the game, while through additional boosting effect, for players in the game performance plus buff. The product uses a combination of caffeine and lutein to provide both energy and eye protection. Users do not need to keep sipping or distracted from the high-intensity game, just chewing to maintain sustained focus, responsiveness and hand speed.

4、Anti-cavity Chewing Gum

Mondelez International in Japan released the first chewing gum containing "vitamin D" in 2020, with a sweet flavor of yogurt, berries and mint. Vitamin D helps promote intestinal absorption of calcium and bone formation. The product also contains CPP-ACP (casein phosphopeptide), which is a convenient choice for dental care, as it enhances acid resistance and prevents dental caries.

Safety Considerations with Functional Chewing Gum

As with any dietary supplement product, it’s important to read labels carefully when choosing a functional chewing gum and make sure that it contains only safe ingredients from a reputable source. Additionally, be aware that if you have certain allergies or sensitivities to certain ingredients such as caffeine or sugar alcohols (which are commonly used in many kinds of gum) then you should pay special attention when selecting your brand and flavor. Finally, if you take any medications or have any medical condition then speak with your doctor before trying out any new kind of supplement—even one in the form of chewable gum!

Conclusion

Functional chewing gum will be the new trend of the confectionery industry in the future. Functional chewing gum involves a wide range of functions: it helps to quit smoking, calms the mind, provides immunity, prevents tooth decay and other effects can be chosen. Consumers must look carefully when buying and buy as needed.

For manufacturers, it is also important to develop different types of functional chewing gum for consumers with the help of solid scientific research and mature ingredient technology to give consumers a real and complete experience.