Chew on This: South Africa’s First Plastic-Free Functional Gum is Here
In a world increasingly tuned toward wellness, performance optimisation and sustainability, one question feels overdue: Why hasn’t anyone reinvented chewing gum? A South African entrepreneur just did. Meet Gnash, South Africa’s first plastic-free, biodegradable, tooth-friendly functional gum.
Created by Toni Carroll, supplement sommelier and founder of Empyre for Men and My Beauty Luv, Gnash is South Africa’s first plastic-free, vegan, biodegradable chewing gum. It is the first functional gum in South Africa to use hydroxyapatite, a bioactive mineral that is currently gaining momentum in global longevity circles.
Chewable, swallowable, biodegradable, sugar-free, and completely free of polyvinyl acetates (PVAs), synthetic rubbers, and petroleum-derived bases, Gnash is what chewing gum would look like if it were invented in 2026, not 1926.
And that was the intention. “Chewing gum is universal behaviour, but it hasn’t evolved with us,” says Carroll. “If we can optimise our sleep, our supplements, our cold exposure, our nutrition, why haven’t we upgraded something millions of people chew every day?”
Gnash, which launches first in South Africa before expanding globally, is her answer. But, according to Carroll, to understand the significance of Gnash, you first need to understand how conventional gum is made.
A launch press release sent out by Gnash goes on to explain to that most major chewing gum brands use a base made from polyisobutylene or polyvinyl acetate, which are the same compounds found in industrial plastics. These materials cannot be metabolised by the human digestive system and cannot be broken down by environmental bacteria. That’s why swallowed gum passes through the gut unchanged, and why discarded gum lingers in the environment for decades.
When gum does break down, it fragments into microplastics, which are particles increasingly linked to ecosystem disruption, inflammatory conditions, endocrine disorders, and contamination of marine life. Worse still, some municipal waste incinerators burn gum, releasing harmful chemicals into the air. Carroll calls it “a forgotten environmental crisis hiding in plain sight.”
For Carroll who is known for pioneering South Africa’s first supplement sommelier service, gum wasn’t just a sticky problem but an overlooked wellness opportunity.
Gnash incorporates hydroxyapatite, a mineral that mirrors the natural composition of human tooth enamel. Long used in Japanese oral care and growing in popularity in Dubai’s longevity scene, hydroxyapatite helps support: tooth remineralisation, reduced sensitivity, enamel strength for overall whiter, smoother teeth. The inclusion of this hero ingredient makes Gnash actively tooth-friendly, turning gum into something that supports oral wellbeing rather than undermines it.
Coupled with a clean peppermint-menthol flavour, a sugar-free formulation, and a biodegradable base derived from natural materials, Gnash offers a new category entirely: functional chewing gum.
The gum comes in boxes of 15 pieces (R160), made from recyclable cardboard with an inner pack produced from upcycled recycled plastic. The product is vegan, sugar-free, safe for kids, and safe to swallow because its natural base biodegrades fully within the body.
GNASH is available online from Empyreformen, Faithful to Nature and Takealot.
