The consumer industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by taste, convenience, health and wellness, and environmental sustainability, as well as the growing importance of personalised nutrition, alternative proteins, and food waste reduction. In the last three years alone, there have been over 450,000 patents filed and granted in the consumer industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in Consumer: Chewing gum compositions. Buy the report here.
However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilising and reaching maturity.
Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have.
40+ innovations will shape the consumer industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the consumer industry using innovation intensity models built on over 110,000 patents, there are 40+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, hydrogel dressings, dextrin-based compositions, and nicotine extraction are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Artificial sweeteners, e enzyme fortified cocoa products, and glycoside-based sweeteners are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are anabolic muscle supplements and botulinum toxin,
Innovation S-curve for the consumer industry
Chewing gum compositions is a key innovation area in consumer
Chewing gums are mouth-refreshing confectioneries, which often comprise sweetening compositions, food-grade acid compositions, cooling agents, and flavouring agents, particularly essential oils (EOs) of herbal plants. Chewing gum can be a functional food having significant short-term impact on oral hygiene. Patchouli cablin (PC) EO is used in chewing gums and bubble gums to improve flavour and perform antibacterial action by assisting the killing of germs associated with poor breath and masking mouth odour.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 40+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established consumer companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of chewing gum compositions.
Key players in chewing gum compositions – a disruptive innovation in the consumer industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to chewing gum compositions
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2021) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Mondelez International | 324 | Unlock company profile |
| Roquette Freres | 133 | Unlock company profile |
| Perfetti Van Melle Group | 100 | Unlock company profile |
| Kraft Heinz | 93 | Unlock company profile |
| Lotte | 91 | Unlock company profile |
| Suddeutsche Zuckerrubenverwertungs-Genossenschaft eG | 70 | Unlock company profile |
| Cargill | 62 | Unlock company profile |
| Ingredion | 47 | Unlock company profile |
| Firmenich International | 41 | Unlock company profile |
| Symrise | 40 | Unlock company profile |
| Givaudan | 32 | Unlock company profile |
| Philip Morris International | 26 | Unlock company profile |
| International Flavors & Fragrances | 23 | Unlock company profile |
| Newtree | 22 | Unlock company profile |
| Gumlink Confectionery Company | 22 | Unlock company profile |
| EPC Natural Products | 21 | Unlock company profile |
| San-Ei Gen F.F.I. | 21 | Unlock company profile |
| Procter & Gamble | 19 | Unlock company profile |
| Takasago International | 18 | Unlock company profile |
| Pfizer | 18 | Unlock company profile |
| Conagen | 17 | Unlock company profile |
| Tate & Lyle | 16 | Unlock company profile |
| Iaf Science Holdings | 16 | Unlock company profile |
| Martin Bauer | 14 | Unlock company profile |
| Corbion | 10 | Unlock company profile |
| Altria Group | 10 | Unlock company profile |
| British American Tobacco Plc | 10 | Unlock company profile |
| Vitalgaia Espana | 10 | Unlock company profile |
| Archer Daniels Midland | 9 | Unlock company profile |
| BioGaia | 9 | Unlock company profile |
| 4Life Research USA | 8 | Unlock company profile |
| GSK plc | 7 | Unlock company profile |
| Royal DSM | 7 | Unlock company profile |
| Kao | 6 | Unlock company profile |
| Per Os Biosciences | 6 | Unlock company profile |
| Nestle | 6 | Unlock company profile |
| Pasenture | 6 | Unlock company profile |
| Fermbiotics Holding | 5 | Unlock company profile |
| Meiji Holdings | 5 | Unlock company profile |
| GSK Consumer Healthcare | 5 | Unlock company profile |
| Tereos | 5 | Unlock company profile |
| Visiotact Pharma | 5 | Unlock company profile |
| Laboratorios Miret | 5 | Unlock company profile |
| Gerda and Victor B Strand Holding | 5 | Unlock company profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Mondelez International is one of the leading patent filers in chewing gum compositions. Some other key patent filers in chewing gum compositions are Roquette Freres, Perfetti Van Melle Group, Kraft Heinz, and Lotte. Recently, Mondelez has launched the Sour Patch Kids gum, which has a crunchy, candy-like outer shell that changes into a sour, then sweet, and juicy chew. Sour Patch Kids gum is a new flavour-packed, sugar-free chewing gum.
In terms of application diversity, Conagen leads the pack. GSK and Martin Bauer stand in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, IAF Science Holdings hold the top position, followed by BioGaia and San-Ei Gen.
Due to the existence of several local, national, and worldwide sellers, the chewing gum composition market is fragmented. In order to compete in the industry, vendors are using growth techniques that are both organic and inorganic. Vendors must choose their product offerings through distinct and obvious value propositions to survive and prosper in such a competitive climate.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the consumer industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Consumer.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
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