Chewing gum's the next big bubble

In a move to turnaround its gum business, Mondelez decided to launch its 60-year-old Trident brand in China.

Yuan Dongqing, vice-president of Mondelez for confectionary products in the Asia Pacific region, is convinced that innovation is the key to success, with an assortment of flavors and packaging.

"Like chocolate, our gum sales are a tale of two cities," Irene Rosenfeld, CEO of Mondelez, said. "Developed markets continue to be down, but in developing markets gum sales were up, particularly in China."

Between 2009 and 2014, chewing gum sales mirrored the growth in the Chinese confectionery industry with a 90 percent increase, according to a Mintel report.

But that could slow significantly in the future, rival research company Kantar pointed out, as gum starts to lose "its appeal".

One key area for expansion has been sugar-free gum, the Mintel report highlighted. This part of the industry saw growth rates as high as 25 percent in 2011 before slowing to 13 percent in 2012 as consumers switched to the healthier option.

"Sugar-free gum is on my regular shopping list, as it can relieve work pressure," Stephanie Wang, 28, who is employed in the fashion industry in Beijing, said.

"But sugary kinds make me worry about putting on weight."

Chewing gum with long-lasting flavors is also proving popular. In the Mintel report, which also involved a survey of 3,000 Internet users, 37 percent said they bought gum for the long-lasting taste.

The survey was carried out online to explore consumer attitudes toward sugar and gum.

"Fieldwork was conducted last September in four tier-one cities－Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu," the report said.

Tier-two and tier-three cities such as Jinan, Linyi, Nantong, Hefei, Shantou and Changsha were also included in the survey.

Around 30 percent of those polled preferred to pay more for low, or sugar-free gum, and 28 percent for products containing additional health benefits, such as vitamins.

"The number of new products that claim to be low or have no sugar has greatly increased," the report added. "We have already seen 75 percent of new products make this claim."

But "claims" that gum can solve bad breath problems jumped in the first half of last year, Mintel reported, with 15 percent of all new brands highlighting the issue.

This has gone down well with consumers.

"Hygiene is just as important as the way you dress," Jeff Yao, 30, a marketing manager at the consumer product company in Shanghai, said.

"A dashing smile and fresh breath will make you very welcome among your clients and friends."

Tougher smoking laws in China could also boost gum sales among men.

About 24.2 percent of the population in China are regular smokers, according to a report published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The World Health Organization estimated in 2010 that about 53 percent of Chinese men smoked.

The ban on public smoking here, as part of a wider campaign to reduce the social and healthcare costs, is expected to be a bonus for the chewing gum industry.

"It's a business culture in China where you hand over cigarettes to you clients," Ryan Qian, who has smoked for 12 years but also uses gum, said. "Now I hope they give me some chewing gums instead."