CHEW NO PLASTIC
True Gum was founded from a belief that chewing gum could be better. Co-founder Peter Juul Regnersgaard talks to us about their fight to change an entire industry. From an industry contributing to the world’s catastrophic problems to a product free of plastic.
First, how big is the chewing gum plastic problem?
374 billion pieces of gum are chewed yearly on a global scale, with an estimated total weight of 100,000 tonnes. The majority of the chewing gum is not discarded properly, and a lot unfortunately still ends up polluting our nature and our oceans. Most producers of regular chewing gum use plastic as a component in their chewing gums, and when these gums reach our nature, they contribute negatively to the plastic problem our world faces. Something we need to help each other act upon.
How were you able to craft an alternative?
We started in the home kitchen with zero experience, but with the conviction of producing something better for our world – a gum totally free from plastic. So, we started researching online how to make chewing gum, watching videos, and reading books to educate ourselves. The first several hundred trials turned out terrible, and we came extremely close to quitting the project. But slowly we began seeing progress and after 472 trials, we had a working prototype, which we felt would justify pushing forward with the project. The rest is a long story, but I think we’ve stayed true to our values and bold ambitions from the get-go, and that, coupled with a strong and determined team, has really brought us far. But we’re still just on the first few miles of the marathon we set out to accomplish.
Do you experience a changing consumer mindset?
We founded True Gum to drive change within the global food industry. And we clearly feel that many consumers want to support eco-friendly companies with a clear purpose. We have great support across generations and a growing number of people want to connect with and be inspired by brands, who actually focus on more than just profit maximization. At True Gum we want to be a force for good, and we definitely feel this journey resonates with modern consumers - something that definitely is evolving as sustainable decision making becomes an increasingly integral part of modern consumer behavior.
What is next for True Gum?
We think everyone deserves a plastic-free chewing gum alternative, so we’ll keep pushing forward, growing our sustainable brand across Europe to drive that change, and hopefully inspire other green entrepreneurs to follow their dreams in pursuit of reversing the negative climate path our world is heading down.
Which other companies inspire you in the world of sustainable change?
Patagonia, Bureo, Impossible Foods.
And finally, how do you drink your coffee? And equally important: which gum would you chew to get the good breath back?
Preferably a decaffeinated version, trying to stray away from both milk (and foam). For good breath, definitely our new ‘Strong Mint’ variant, that one really does the trick.
