Eco-friendly Copenhagen gum brand True Gum is expanding in the travel retail channel in partnership with consultancy Blueprint.
The company’s eco-friendly gum and mints were first launched in 2018 in Denmark.
The chewing gum brand has just launched with Dufry Group across European and South American airport duty free stores. In addition, at Gebr. Heinemann’s main duty free store in Copenhagen, True Gum is positioned next to the cash tills to drive impulse purchasing. At Frankfurt Airport, there will also be True Mint giveaways for VIP guests.
Founded by Peter Regnersgaard, Zabrina Ziegler, Morten Ebdrup and Jacob Motzfeldt, True Gum was launched with a mission to change conventional chewing gum, which is made with plastic and synthetic ingredients.
“We knew from the start that the biodegradable, vegan-friendly and plastic-free True Gum had something unique to offer travel retailers and our instincts were proved correct,” said Ebdrup.
He added: “Alongside the brand’s listings with more than 20,000 retail stores throughout Europe, we are taking True Gum into airports, train stations, cruise ships and ferries worldwide at a high rate.”
Commenting on True Gum’s growth, Blueprint Partner Karl Walter said: “From the very beginning we never doubted that True Gum, True Mints and the new line, True Drops, were a great fit for travel retail. The rapid growth in travel retail is testament that consumers have as much faith in ‘doing the right thing’ as we do. We hope more travel retailers will see that this point of view has merit. But even if they don’t, our business case is sound: True Gum delivers category growth to partner retailers, and in a responsible way.”
Dufry Global Category Head – Confectionary, Food, Souvenirs & Toys Philippe Moryl, said: “True Gum is a perfect fit within our category range innovation agenda and as the leading airport retailer we are keen to support new brands that can deliver innovative products, alongside genuine sustainability and environmental credentials. We will continue to look for ways to bring further innovation to the category, either with our long-standing partners or with new brands such as True Gum.”
Gebr. Heinemann Copenhagen Airport Category Manager WLTC Lars Suhr added: “We push the sustainability bar at all times. Heinemann is committed to supporting hero brands with authentic CSR agendas. We are off to a great start with True Gum, the brand’s green value-proposition is embraced by our customers.”
Blueprint partner Thomas Kaneko Henningsen added: “Passengers are increasingly looking for healthier and more environmentally friendly products in the confectionery category and True Gum has great authority and credibility in this space. On top of that, True Gum’s entrepreneurial mindset is inspiring, a force for good. This is a breath of fresh air, we need more of this in travel retail.”
