• by Steve Ellwanger , February 16, 2022

Simply Gum Inc. seems to want the federal government—as opposed to the advertising industry’s self-regulation process—to decide whether its claims regarding “plastic” and other ingredients in competitors’ chewing gums are accurate.

Perfetti Van Melle USA, which markets Mentos gum, filed a complaint against Simply Gum with the National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs challenging nearly two dozen claims made on Simply Gum packaging and internet assets.

Among the claims are “Unlike conventional gum, which contains hidden plastic and artificial ingredients, we only use natural ingredients, which are crafted into the highest quality gum on the market.”

Perfetti is also challenging “implied claims” by Simply Gum that “Regular gum is made of plastic used in white glue, car tires and plastic water bottles and therefore, full of chemicals, such as phthalates, and thus unhealthy.”

According to the NAD, Simply Gum declined to file a response and has “elected not to participate in the advertising industry self-regulatory process.”

As a result, the NAD has referred Simply Gum’s advertising claims to the Federal Trade Commission.

If last year is any indication, Simply Gum is in a distinct minority when it comes to shunning the NAD process. Only four cases out of 149 were referred to the FTC in 2021, an NAD rep tells Marketing Daily.

According to the Simply Gum website, its gum contains chicle tree sap instead of ingredients other brands use as their base.

Among the site’s FAQs is the statement “If you see the term 'Gum Base' written on the back of your pack of gum, that’s code for potentially many different chemicals, including synthetic plastics used in white glue, car tires, and water bottles!”

The third ingredient listed on Mentos sugar-free gum packaging is “chewing gum base.”

Last year, the environmental publication EcoWatch published a story stating “An ingredient listed as ‘gum base’ in many gum formulas is plastic, and it’s the aspect of the gum that gives it its chewiness.”

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, there are several dozen substances that can be used in a chewing gum base—including a variety of “Plasticizing Materials (Softeners).”

Entrepreneur Caron Proschan started Simply Gum in 2014 in New York City.

Mentos gum made its U.S. debut in 2008.

Update: Simply Gum's Proschan sent this statement: "We did not participate in the NAD process because it requires significant resources, and as a small company we chose not to expend our limited resources on an unfounded challenge that had been disproved by our own independent testing. Our gum is made from bio-based chicle and is indeed free of synthetic plastics. We have rigorous quality standards and we stand by our product."