The launch of Simply Gum forms part of Iceland’s commitment to remove all single-use plastic packaging from its own-brand products by 2023 – an unprecedented pledge within the supermarket sector. The rollout of the gum, which comes in mint, maple and ginger flavours, comes after an Iceland survey revealed that 85% of its customers were not aware that such products typically contain plastic – and that two-thirds of people who chew gum opt for products without synthetic ingredients. “For decades, regular gum makers have hidden their synthetic ingredients behind the catch-all term of ‘gum base’ which is consistently used as an ingredient on pack – but Simply Gum uses the original, natural gum base of chicle and is fully biodegradable.”
“I absolutely detest the mess that discarded plastic chewing gum creates on our streets, and the fortune that is wasted by councils trying to clear it up,” Walker added. The supermarket’s executive chairman, Malcolm Walker, said he was “delighted” to make the new product available in Iceland’s UK stores and on its website, as he believes the move will offer consumers “a real choice about what they are consuming and the impact they make on the environment". Iceland claims that the Simply Gum is completely biodegradable, and hopes the switch to chicle will help reduce the £60m which local councils spend annually on removing littered chewing gum from pavements. While the majority of chewing gums are made from synthetic rubber, the new Iceland product, called Simply Gum, is made from the sap of the sapodilla tree, which is called chicle and was the original base for most gum products before the switch.
Frozen food giant Iceland has today (August 1) launched a range of plastic-free chewing gum, making it the first supermarket in the UK to offer a biodegradable alternative.
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