True Gum - FoodTech innovation in chewing gum

by Startacus Admin

The lowdown on the Danish FoodTech startup True Gum that's created a healthy and environmentally-friendly chewing gum

It’s hardly a shocking revelation that chewing gum is not particularly good for the environment or us. It is made of polymers and resins that are also found in car tyres and plastic bottles and aren’t exactly biodegradable (also pig stomach - don’t forget the pig stomach).

It results in microplastics being swallowed up by sealife and it’s toxic to us, the people putting it in our mouths. The UK spends around £60 million a year cleaning gum off the streets - about £1.50 per piece trodden into the pavement, and a tax on gum has been talked about for years because of it. On just about every level, chewing gum is not good and needs to go. But it also needs to be replaced by something, because people don’t only use it to fool themselves into thinking they now have fresh breath, but also to replace habits like smoking. So is there an alternative?

Yes. And that alternative comes from Denmark, in the form of food-tech startup True Gum’s true gum, True Gum. True Gum’s True Gum is true gum (we’ll stop now) in the sense that it uses chicle, the natural tree sap from Central American sapodilla trees in place of the plastic.

The process for collecting this does not require trees to be cut down, making it a sustainable resource. True Gum is also vegan, as it is entirely plant based, doing away with the pig stomach you’re currently chewing on, which contributes to it being a biodegradable substance (but put it in a bin instead of spitting it all over the streets anyway). It is sugar free, instead using ingredients that are actually good for teeth, and natural flavourings such as ginger, raspberry, mint, liquorice, and more.

True Gum announced in September that it has raised €1 million from Oyster Bay, a venture capital fund specialising in food and beverage consumer goods. This investment will be used to further product development and expand its reach, helping to further reduce the massive amount of plastic waste making its way to our oceans.

With plastic waste and microplastics very slowly taking more of a hold on people’s consciousness, we think this natural alternative will do well and...uh...gum up the works of the traditional manufacturers.

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• #environment
• #sustainability
• #food startup
• #food
• #foodtech
• #innovation
• #health
• #vegan

Published on: 29th September 2020