8 min.
April 4, 2024
It took 472 attempts before we cracked the code
Text:
Casper Hindse
Photo:
Kasper Løftgaard
Most people have a relationship with chewing gum. However, few people give much thought to what a piece of mouth freshener contains.
That thought crossed Peter, Morten and Jacob's minds one fall evening in 2016. The three friends were sitting around a table in a Copenhagen apartment. They were determined to live healthier. After a well-prepared meal consisting of good ingredients, Peter took out a pack of chewing gum. Dessert was banned, but the mouth was allowed a little something extra. But the contrast became clear - why was chewing gum filled with synthetic ingredients?
- We came to the conclusion that chewing gum does not degrade because it sticks to the asphalt for years," says Peter Juul Regnersgaard more than seven years later.
The idea of a sustainable alternative quickly took shape and they contacted product developer Zabrina Ziegler. She had just started receiving unemployment benefits after working as a product developer in the chocolate industry. Now here were some guys offering her the chance to be part of a gum adventure.
- It sounded both presumptuous and yet a bit realistic, says Zabrina Ziegler.
The four entrepreneurs set up their apartment in Ryesgade as a laboratory and started experimenting. While some tried to sell to potential buyers, others worked in the kitchen to produce a new chewing gum using products from local health stores.
- It took 472 attempts before we cracked the code, says Peter Juul Regnersgaard.
We weren't chewing gum nerds, but we quickly became interested in developing a new product because it could help create a better world.
Licorice flavor was the breakthrough
In February 2017, after almost half a year of trial, the four of them were on to something.
- When there was finally a flavor that we thought worked, we could hardly believe it, says Jacob Motzfeldt and says that the True Gum foursome immediately started dreaming:
Chewing gum is a complex thing. It's about taste, texture and shelf life. The taste experience must not crumble in your mouth. Everything must taste as good as it possibly can if you don't want your competitors to end up in the shopping cart instead.
- We were naive enough to think we could develop chewing gum much faster than we could, says Jacob Motzfeldt.
The first packs were sold to small stores, but in 2018, 7-Eleven and Irma embraced the plastic-free alternative. Rather than get carried away, they decided that this was the time to stop shooting from the hip. They wanted to build an exclusive business. They wouldn't sell more than they could produce, and the focus was on quality and sales. Nevertheless, production continued by hand.
- We stood with each piece of gum and understood how it was made," says Zabrina Ziegler.
In 2019, a German distributor called - the DM chain wanted True Gum in 2,000 stores. Until then, the plastic-free chewing gum had not shone in more than 1,000 Danish stores.
This turned a Danish entrepreneurial dream into an international export.
We have used GS1 from the very beginning. All our products are registered in GS1Trade Sync, and the system is both simple and easy to get help with if something suddenly arises. We have a lot of products, so it's good to be able to outsource control a little. You need that if you want to succeed as an entrepreneur.
Sold for millions
The kitchen became a thing of the past, the factory is roaring ahead. True Gum became a sustainable success.
The company was sold in 2022, with Swedish food group Humble bidding DKK 170 million, just five years after the experiments in the apartment began.
- We sold True Gum because it could develop our ambition. We dreamed of being a green role model when we sat in the kitchen in 2016, and we reached a point where we needed more muscle to succeed, says Peter Juul Regnersgaard.
We have used GS1 from the very beginning. All our products are registered in GS1Trade Sync, and the system is both simple and easy to get help with if something suddenly arises. We have a lot of products, so it's good to be able to outsource control a little. You need that if you want to succeed as an entrepreneur.
GS1'S ROLE
- True Gum uses GTINs, GLN, GS1Trade Sync, GS1Trade Exact and GS1Trade Image. GS1Trade Sync is used for both Danish and Swedish customers.
- Unique GTINs on products and packages ensure unique identification throughout the supply chain.
- Product data is created in GS1Trade Sync.
- Products are sent to GS1Trade Exact for creation and/or quality assurance of product data.
- GS1Trade Image delivers professional product images for your needs.
