JAY KLEIN, CEO Action Candy Co: Kicking aspartame? The rise and rise of PÜR Gum
From a standing start in May 2010, when PÜR Gum founder Jay Klein first started knocking on doors at local stores in Toronto, retail sales of his xylitol-sweetened gum are now approaching $10m, and it’s stocked in almost 10,000 stores in 12 countries, from the US to the UK, Germany, Australia and the Philippines.
If current trends continue - SPINS data shows PÜR is clocking truly meteoric growth rates while sales growth for the category’s biggest guns is going backwards - he’s hoping to be in 50,000 outlets and 30-40 countries in the next two to three years.
Not bad going considering he entered one of the most competitive categories in grocery dominated by two CPG monsters Wrigley (Mars) and Cadbury (Kraft), which has also found itself in a bit of a funk of late.
Click here to read our interview with Jay.