t's barely nine months since the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) did away with restrictions for marketing of sugarfree products in the confectionery category. But the growth in the segment is already discernible. According to AC Nielsen, the size of the sugar confectionery market is approximately Rs 1,417 crore (November 2005). Of this, chewing gums formed 6.3 per cent and grew at a rate of 26.6 per cent over the previous 12 months.

With changing lifestyles and people becoming increasingly diet- and image-conscious, chewing gum makers have latched on to the sugarfree segment with glee. Says a spokesperson from chewing gum major Wrigley's, "Although small and at a nascent stage, the sugarfree segment is among the fastest growing sub-segment among confectionery." ... more