Get to know PÜR Gum and ditch the aspartame!

The PÜR brand represents a combination of three key elements:

1. Simple substitution of raw materials. Regular sweets are full of artificial sweeteners and additives that are not good for our long-term health.
   

2. Thinking about allergies and people with food restrictions - inclusion. The brand is there for all people regardless of personal limitations or needs.
   

3. Top quality products - certified production hall in Switzerland, which guarantees that the production raw materials do not come into contact with any allergens.
   

For PÜR Gum and PÜR Mints, it offers consumers who prefer healthier alternatives natural substitutes that fit their healthier lifestyle or dietary restrictions. These vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free and peanut-free products represent the cutting edge in healthier chewing.

PÜR Gum is made from xylitol, a natural sweetener, and is also suitable for people suffering from diabetes who want to enjoy the simple pleasure of chewing.

These three pillars form the foundation that is evident in all PÜR products and the PÜR brand atmosphere. But this triumphant journey towards quality is not just the beginning. PÜR Gum's history is full of challenges and successes that are moving the company towards a dynamic future.

How it all started...

Taking it from the beginning, the story starts with Jay Klein, the founder of PÜR Gum, who as a young boy used to sell sweets from his backpack to his classmates at school.

In 2007, Klein started his own advertising and marketing firm instead of going to law school.

He took this chance to make his own mark. It was called Bonus and sold chewing gum made from superfood ingredients. Although it worked at first, eventually Klein had to leave.

"I got in over my head and just had to walk away from it," Klein told the National Post. "[We were] too resourceful. It was a really steep ride up [but] a quick fizzle."

However, the demise of Bonus Gum helped pave the way for PÜR Gum's future success.

Klein reconsidered and decided to start small. As he likes to say, he and his team decided to take the PÜR Gum and "run for mayor".

The process of "running for mayor" goes like this: Klein and his team went door-to-door, prioritizing networking, education and building relationships with customers and vendors.

"We didn't build our brand on the back of one giant retailer, which is usually a very ambitious thing for most small brands," Klein told Candy Industry's Abigail Watt. "We've been doing it more door-to-door. Every year we grew and were very persistent, hardworking and humble. And it worked."

Dragon's Den

It really worked. From the first month of May 2010 to July of that year, the PÜR Gum brand earned its place on the shelves of 33 local health food stores to 174 stores.

PÜR Gum continued to gain momentum. In 2011, the chewing gum was introduced to the US market and began appearing on the shelves of duty-free shops in airports.

But one of the brand's biggest wins came in 2014. Klein and his team appeared on CBC's Dragon's Den. Like many people before them, they put their proposal forward and waited to see if an investor/dragon would want to make a deal. They didn't get the attention of one dragon. They got the attention of four.

The Four Dragons offered Klein and his team three deals. After careful consideration, Klein accepted the joint agreement of Arelene Dickinson and Jim Trevliving for one million dollars. Klein thus became the first ever million-dollar deal in the history of Dragon's Den.

Within a year, PÜR Gum expanded its products to include mints. Menthols have all the values and standard of chewing gum, but in the form of a trap for people who don't want to or can't chew. This added to the success of the chewing gum and further growth of the company.

In 2016, PÜR became the tenth fastest growing company in Canada and the fourth fastest growing company in Toronto. However, PÜR has not yet reached its goal and is still trying to grow.

"We want to strengthen our global footprint and we want to continue to penetrate existing retailers," Klein says. "I think a big part of our growth will be expanding the PÜR brand, adopting the same brand values we operate by, and continuing to innovate with new products that meet customer demand."

The Future

Even the short history of PUR shows that it is a successful company that sells chewing gum and mints in more than 25 countries. Wondering how you can achieve the same?

Jay Klein's advice, which we follow as marketers:

"Be motivated by creating something for the greater good instead of being driven by a monetary milestone - this allows you to learn from mistakes and take risks, as well as grow from passion."

And don't forget: Kick ^Aspartame®! Czech: Dump ^aspartame®!