Sweet Victory, Ltd., created a flavorful, botanical-infused chewing gum for children. The prototype gum is designed to help young consumers reduce sugar intake in an easy and fun way by stopping sugary treat cravings in their tracks. The foodTech start-up already successfully designed a version of the innovative gum for adults, but gum for kids set more challenges, as it must suit younger taste buds.
Sweet Victory's crave-stifling chewing gum works within two minutes by blocking the sugar receptors on the tongue. The impulse for a sweets binge can be abated and extends longer than the physical effect—up to two hours. During that time sweet foods or beverages that normally excite the senses will taste bland or even sour. The product for kids is still in the prototype stage, but is slated to launch by the end of 2022.
The findings of a new study, reported in the May 1, 2022 issue of The Telegraph revealed that at least 80% of seven year olds exceed the recommended limit of 10% of daily calories from free sugars presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity in Maastricht, Netherlands. The research included 2,336 children from the UK, making it the largest dietary dataset of young children. Parents were asked to complete three-day eating diaries for their children at 21 months old, and again when the kids were seven years old.
Development of a child's version of the product turned out to be a massive process, taking months to create a new product with a child-safe, tailored dosage of the active ingredient, Gymnema sylvestre. This traditional herb has been used for more than 2,000 years in Ayurvedic medicine. Receiving a modern twist, the new gum boasts a tutti-frutti flavor—ranked one of the three top favorite sweet flavors among children worldwide. The cutting-edge technology enabled creation of a functional, sugar-free chewing gum that kids love to chew.
The start-up already conducted trials with children to estimate the impact of this innovative gum on kids in Israel, US and France. The results demonstrated that children enjoyed the gum but could not eat confectionery after chewing it due to the change in their receptors.
