Gap in the market for ‘healthy’ mints, claims UK confectioner
Made with real mint and no artificial flavours, colours, preservatives or aspartame, Peppersmith’s Freshmints scooped up the Best New Food Product award last month at the Olympia for Natural & Organic Products Europe 2011.
The mints also recently received accreditation from the British Dental Health Foundation.
Xylitol (wood sugar from beech trees grown in Austria) is used as a sugar replacement in the mints, which the company says is good for teeth, breaking down bacteria in the mouth that causes tooth decay.
New mint category
There’s a weird anomaly in the mint market, with a gap for mint products which are good for your teeth, Dan Shrimpton, Peppersmith’s brand director told ConfectioneryNews.com
Currently, people have to make some kind of sacrifice, he said, as the only choice available in the mint category at the moment is either a product which offers a good flavour, but with lots of sugar or reduced sugar with a synthetic taste.
Mints and gums can offer the same functional benefits for teeth, yet there has so far only been a focus on gum products, he said.
Gum products are currently about 90 per cent sugar free, whereas mints still contain around 80 per cent still sugar, which are ultimately rotting people’s teeth, he said.
Mint products that carry dental health claims have also been launched in Scandinavia, a region where consumers are much more focused on dental health, said Shrimpton.
However, in Scandinavia no one has gone as far as eliminating artificial ingredients, he claims. According to Shrimpton, no product has been launched of this kind in the UK.
The premium gum firm is currently rolling out its Freshmints to wholefood shops in the UK and Holland.
Holland shares a lot health and food concerns with the UK, said Shrimpton, with healthy brands doing well in the country.
Other reasons come down to convenience, he said, as English packaging is also widely accepted in the region, he said.
