Chew gum, eat less
European gum users have a range of motivations for chewing; among the reasons they give are tooth whitening, a distraction from smoking, and a way of eating less. The propensity to chew gum for the first two benefits is similar among men and women, varying little from the country average in each case. But, when it comes to looking at gum as a ‘food replacer,’ there is a definite gender difference, with a 10-to-11 point spread between men and women.
European consumers
In France, for example, only nine per cent of men who chew gum do so as a way of eating less, compared to 19 per cent of women. There is a similar difference in Germany, Italy, and Spain. Spanish gum chewers in general are more likely to rely on gum instead of food, and almost a quarter of Spanish women who chew gum see it as a strategy for cutting back on their food intake .
It is notable that only rarely are gum products marketed as ‘appetite suppressers.’ Indeed, such a positioning would be subjected to extensive scrutiny from EFSA. Rather, the majority of gum products in these markets are no/low/reduced sugar, a positioning that could be construed by consumers to imply ‘weight control’ since the products have an extremely low calorie count (and thus little impact on their daily calorie intake).
Recognising that gum could provide an (unstated) ‘weight management’ benefit, therefore, is something that female consumers seem to know almost intuitively. They seem likely to equate ‘no/low/reduced sugar’ with ‘diet friendly,’ in the same way that many consumers view such a positioning as ‘tooth friendly.’
Female consumers, especially those in France, are more knowledgeable than men about what to do to stay healthy. In Italy and Spain, a similar percentage of men and women claim to have knowledge about what to do to keep healthy, while in Germany, there is a five point spread between men and women. This understanding is likely to be applicable to strategies for weight management, including the substitution of gum for food.
Considerations for gum manufacturers
Gum manufacturers may want to consider the benefit of positioning sugar free products as ’boosters’ or ‘assistants’ for women interested in losing or controlling their weight. Women are more likely than men to chew gum primarily as a way of controlling their calorie intake (through reducing their food intake). While the gum products themselves cannot be positioned as ‘diet aids,’ they can be ‘affiliated’ with weight control, and be given a ‘female friendly twist’ much in the way some cereals that help with satiety are aimed at women. Since they are also quite knowledgeable about what to do to stay healthy, they are likely to try to keep well informed about ways to maintain their health and weight.
By Marcia Mogelonsky, director of insight at Mintel
