An innovative gum to naturally block sugar cravings in kids
FoodTech startup Sweet Victory from Israel, has collaborated with Givaudan, SA to create a flavourful botanical-infused chewing gum for children. The prototype gum is designed to stop sugary treat cravings in their tracks. Sweet Victory already designed the innovative gum for adults but gum for kids set more challenges, and Givaudan helped the startup to create a supplement that fits kids’ taste buds.
Sweet Victory crave-stifling chewing gum works within two minutes by blocking the sugar receptors on the tongue. The effect can last up to two hours, and during that time sweet foods or beverages that normally excite the senses will taste bland or even sour. The impulse for a sweets binge can be abated, lasting even longer than the physical effect up to two hours. Sweet Victory gum was designed to help consumers to reduce sugar intake in an easy and fun way. The product for kids is still in the prototype stage, but the company expects to launch it by the end of 2022.
Development of a children’s version of the product turned out to be a massive process. The senior manager of product development at Givaudan and Sweet Victory’s development team took months to create a totally new product with a child-safe, tailored dosage of the active ingredient, Gymenma sylvestre. This traditional herb has been used for more than 2,000 years in Ayurvedic medicine.
The startup 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.