A young woman buys chewing gum at a kiosk in the center of Madrid.Kike Para
Chewing gum, one of the symbols of the 20th century, is ceasing to be fashionable in the 21st.
Sales in the US are down 23% in a decade (2008-2018), according to data from
The Wall Street Journal
, and the pandemic has accelerated its decline:
The Economist
The global reduction in the sector figures by 14% in 2020. In Spain, the consumption of this product was stagnant in recent years, but in the last year they have sold 45% less, explains the Produlce employer's association.
Some causes are related to the coronavirus: the closure of small stores, the use of masks and teleworking, since many chewing gums are consumed in the office.
Others point to a social change, such as that young people prefer to look at their cell phones than chew or that it is no longer considered such a healthy product.
The latter reason that has pushed some of the major manufacturers in the sector, such as Mondelez, to innovate in their products and launch novelties, for example chewing gums with fluoride, in which they have sought alliances with world leaders in oral care.
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Chewing gum has existed for centuries - one has been found 5,000 years old - but it experienced its peak after World War II, when American soldiers consumed it to alleviate hunger and distract themselves, something that popularized its use on both sides of the Atlantic. From then on, his image became associated with popular culture, especially in the mouths of rebellious youths who challenged authority. This was reflected, for example, by the musical
Grease
(1978), where Franchy's character inflated huge pink bubbles. In Spain, Quimi, the
baddest
character in
the
Compañeros
series
(1998-2002), also chewed at all hours.
Now the habit is changing, as the decline in sales in the United States shows. Could it have to do with less gum appearing on the screen? "Film and television reflect society but also shape it, if something appears more in series it is because it is consumed, and at the same time it gives it more visibility so that its consumption is acceptable", explains Rafael Serrano, director of the Institute of Studies Advanced Social Sciences of the CSIC.
"Chewing gum has become less socially acceptable," Dirk Van de Put, director of Mondelez, one of the major manufacturers, explained in an interview. In the absence of specific studies, several causes can be intuited. For example, one of the favorite times to chew gum is while waiting (at school, at the store, at work), but now most people prefer to look at their
smartphones
in those idle moments. In addition, young people have more activities to spend their money on - video games, the Internet - and chewing gum is not seen as a very healthy product.
Food technologist Miguel Ángel Lurueña explains that the main ingredient in chewing gum is gum base, formed from many ingredients, one of which is usually polyvinyl acetate, “a polymer that we can colloquially call plastic”.
In any case, he explains that “if we accidentally swallow one, nothing happens because we don't digest it;
the only problem could be if we swallow a lot at once, which could lead to intestinal obstruction ”.
The employers of the sector, on the other hand, emphasize that it is a product that does not provide any calories but produces a satiating effect.
A social consumption
Rubén Moreno, secretary general of Produlce, which brings together 80% of the sector —and also sweets and chocolates—, considers that the 45% drop in Spain during 2020 is temporary: “Chewing gum has a certain social consumption and is closely linked to professional life, it can be to have fresh breath, to chew it in a moment of nervousness at work, to do something during breaks ... There are some social components that by not going to the office have been lost ”.
To this is added the sharp decline in the impulse channel, that is, the small stores or that final shelf in the supermarkets that is visible while waiting in line at the supermarkets. “With the pandemic, sales activity has been concentrated in large supermarkets and turnover in neighborhood stores and kiosks has fallen a lot, many have even been closed. Chewing gum is also widely sold at gas stations, but there has been less mobility for obvious reasons and that has also affected ”, continues Moreno. The sector considers the drop as "absolutely dramatic", but expects it to recover in the coming months.
Jose Ortiz Gordo, psychologist,
marketing
and consumer
expert
and co-founder of the company Rookie Soul, provides a more analytical view of the product in which all the factors mentioned above are intermingled: “Buying habits have changed because the shopping experience has changed. radically done with the pandemic. Chewing gums were a product of impulse, but it is also that for years they were associated with a sign of rebellion that was replicated in film productions and in society. Now it is not an attractive gesture and, even if it was, our faces are covered, which has lost some of its grace. Many young people need a stimulus of social interaction to imitate a model, and chewing gum they have not seen in recent years ”.
In addition, Ortiz Gordo points out another important factor: “The new rebellion is to defend the environment, healthy habits.
Chewing gum has lost that component for a sector of the population because it is a long-term waste and because even if it does not contain sugar, it is identified with chewing a piece of plastic ”.
The mask has already been said that it does not help either.
"Trying to chew with a mask is difficult, of course, but I don't think it is the main factor," adds Moreno.
In his opinion, “the chewing gum also exerted a substitute role if you couldn't brush your teeth after a meal;
but in 2020 we have also eaten out much less.
It is closely linked to professional life.
And also, the kids did not go to the institute, and this product is consumed a lot outside the home ”.
Serrano, from the CSIC, agrees with this analysis: “We were locked up for a good part of the year, we went out much less, and contact was less. This type of product is sold a lot in kiosks and small shops when the children are in the park, but this relationship pattern has not been taking place ”. As for the decline in a decade in the US, the sociologist points out that it may have to do with "the importance of oral care, which is increasing every day." Produlce counteracts this point by clarifying that 95% of the chewing gums sold in Spain are already sugar-free.
Adolfo Torre contributes as a positive factor for the sector that chewing gum relaxes, so that "those who have needed to balance the tension" in the complex situation that has been experienced have continued to resort to its consumption. At this point, Jose Ortiz Gordo sees a possibility for the future: “Market niches must be reinvented, targeting much more specific customers who may not have to be young people or those who previously needed gum for their social interaction. that the pandemic has reduced it ”. And as possible examples he points out that they could be products that contain caffeine or, on the contrary, that enhance relaxation or facilitate sleep ”. In any case, 2020 has been the least sweet year for chewing gum.
