Litter-free gum pack Gumipod nears commercialization with redesign
The company developed a polypropylene plastic pod in 2015, which was capable of carrying pellet gum and featured a separate compartment to store used gum.
It has now developed a compact version in a single-mould and is in talks with LoeschPack and Gumlink Confectionery to commercialize the product later this year.
Size of a Tic-Tac box
Gumipod creator Duval Middleton told ConfectioneryNews:"The previous version was a premium product, which in hindsight we released a bit too early.
"Now this packaging is fit for fast-moving consumer goods. It's the size of a Tic-Tac box - it contains fresh gum at the top and you can dispose of used gum at the bottom."
"Once you've finished using the packaging you can throw away the entirety in a public bin or home bin,” he said.
Machines for industrial production
According to Middleton, German company LoeschPack says it can develop technology to produce 350 Gumipods per minute on a semi-automatic line and 700 Gumipods a minute on a fully automated line.
"That completely changes the market and it allows us to be very competitive with chewing gum brands,” he said.
The Gumipod developer said the technology would be available this year and would be open to the industry.
Available to industry
Gumipod is already in talks with manufacturers.
"We have furthered new relations with Gumlink Confectionery and next week we are going to meet with them about how we're going to be moving forward,” said Middleton last week.
"We would like to see the Gumipod LoeschPack machine in every chewing gum manufacturers spaces,” he said.
Gumipod will retail for between 77p and 99p ($1.08-$1.39) for 12-pellet pieces of gum.
Middleton exhibited Gumipod at ConfectioneryNews publisher William Reed’s National Convenience Show last year, where the product came runner up for Great New Idea.
