We’ve come a long way from the individual Chiclet universe of gum products. We have chewing gums with all types of claims from whitening our teeth to exploding in our mouths. My new favorite is from Trident: Trident Layers. It says the product has Real Fruit Flavors; it does. The Wild Strawberry+Tangy Citrus has a great flavor profile that definitely lasts through a rigorous tennis match. Did I mention that the bubbles are impressive, too!

Now there’s still another chewing gum innovation. Did you ever realize there could be so many options. How about a gum that doesn’t just combine flavors but changes flavor somewhere in the middle of its lifecycle. That would be the new Stride Shift. Maybe gum sales are at their peak as dieters learned a long time ago, that little chewing sensation action keeps you from eating the large snack!

Kraft, the company that has the Shift gum innovation, has applied a similar new flavor technology to the world of cough drops with its new Halls Refresh 2 in 1. You have the soothing lemon flavor your throat appreciates sprinkled with a a taste of raspberry to soften the power of a Halls!

Another fun snack approach and perfect for school lunch boxes and breaks between after-school activities comes from the Crispy Green people. The new Fruitzio flavors, Apricot and Peach easily mimic the real fruit taste. We’re talking about a good sized bag that has just 100 calories! Freeze-dried fruit tastes good without having the sugar problem and calories associated with dried fruits. These new packs taste like their counterpart fruits and are made with cane sugar, the new wonder sugar that is making headway in more products. I really like the peach pack and did I mention an additional plus: Gluten-Free.

This category of foods has just taken off. Expect explosive taste results!