Pink, Sticky Bubblegum
Ivory Westerbaan | April 7, 2026
“Pop!” Over 160 million people per year purchase and chew gum. That brings in around half a billion dollars per year on bubble gum alone! Now for the big question: Should you invest in chewing gum and join 160 million people?
Bubble gum can be helpful and not helpful. When you think about bubble gum you often think of the soft, pink, gooey, sugary delight. However that amazing, sugar taste and that pink color is not the sign of a good gum. That sugary taste takes so much more sugar than you may think. It takes around two teaspoons of artificial sugars for one little stick of gum.
Red 40 is added to give gum the bright pink color. So after this you may think “Well, why not chew-sugar free gum?” Let’s jump into that. Sugarfree gum actually has something called sugar alcohols. This can cause stomach issues, bloating and much more. Instead of adding cane sugar in the “sugar free” gums, they add artificial sugars which are even worse for you. Meaning neither options are great.
After all this there are some good things that come with chewing gum. Chewing gum can help with food intake; it helps make sure you aren’t eating for the sake of eating. It also helps a lot in oral hygiene (if you find a good gum supplier.) So finally after all that I hope you get some insight on how sticky the gum industry is.