Simply Gum

New York, New York

Caron Proschan came up with idea for Simply Gum after learning that the regular chewing gum you see on grocery store shelves is filled with artificial substances, including some of the same components used in the manufacture of car tires, plastic bottles, and white glue, as well as artificial sweeteners like aspartame. Not exactly the stuff you'd want to throw in a mixing bowl!

As she did more research, she found that consumers are kept in the dark about what they are chewing because conventional gum brands hide up to 80 synthetic ingredients in the catch-all term "gum base" on the label. And she soon discovered that although there are a few gum brands in the US market claiming to be "natural," none of them are actually 100% natural.