Some 78% of Consumers Plan to Self-Gift This Holiday Season

This is the seventh report in our Ten Days of Holiday Innovators series, which offers daily profiles of innovative companies offering distinctive gifts suitable for the holidays. In this report, we look at NeuroGum, an all-natural energy gum. The 2018 holiday shopping season is expected to be a healthy one. Consumers in the US are set to spend an average of $1,007 this holiday, 4.1% more than they planned to spend last year, according to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF’s) annual holiday spending survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. According to Deloitte’s annual holiday survey, 78% of consumers also plan to self-gift this holiday.

NeuroGum

   

Headquarters

Culver City, California

Company Description

NeuroGum is an all-natural energy gum. The gum is vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free and sugar-free. The gum is made with natural caffeine, L-theanine and B vitamins, a combination that the company says has been shown to boost attention and clarity. The product has gone through 26 iterations and the company founders have said that they are committed to continually improving the product formulation. The company says that its ingredients are absorbed up to five times faster than most energy products, as they are absorbed through the cheeks and mouth rather than by drinking or swallowing, which is how many energy products are consumed. The company pledges to give back at least 1% of time (for community), profits (for a cause) or products (for a charity).

Company Differentiator

NeuroGum partners with Gemini Pharmaceuticals and says that it sources all of its ingredients sustainably. The company uses a cold-compression manufacturing method, which it is says means none of the compounds and active ingredients within the gum are broken down by heat. The company claims that the gum does not degrade and maintains its bioavailability, which allows for more effective absorption.

Company Items of Interest

Kent Yoshimura, the company’s Cofounder and CEO, said that he had experimented with supplements since college, when he was training in judo and studying neuroscience. He said that he was inspired by the nootropics community (nootropics are drugs, supplements and other substances that may improve cognitive function, memory, creativity or motivation in healthy individuals) and that he created NeuroGum as a more approachable and effective solution than pills or supplements. NeuroGum was fully crowdfunded in only three days.

Dietary Supplement Market

According to Zion Market Research, the global dietary supplement market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.7% between 2016 and 2022, from $133 billion to $220 billion. In the US, the dietary supplement market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% between 2016 and 2024 and nearly double in size, from $31.7 billion to $56.7 billion, according to business consulting and research firm Grand View Research.

Industry Collaborations / Awards

Facebook selected NeuroGum to be one of 100 emerging brands to appear in its nine holiday pop-up shops at The Market @ Macy’s. NeuroGum will be featured at Macy’s locations in New York City, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, San Antonio, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle through the holidays until February 2, 2019.

Must-Have Gift Recommendations This Holiday

NeuroGum says that it uses a well-researched nootropic combination in a patented format to provide cleaner, balanced energy that works five times faster than drinks or supplements. NeuroGum is free of gluten, sugar, aspartame and dairy, and is vegan and non-GMO. The gum is available in two flavors, EnlightenMint and CinnaMental.

NeuroGum Source: NeuroGum.com

Social Media This Holiday

Facebook is running a video advertising campaign in New York City’s Grand Central Station that features NeuroGum along with the other brands that consumers will find at the Facebook pop-up shop in the Macy’s Herald Square store.

Where Products Are Sold

NeuroGum products may be purchased online at NeuroGum.com/products and, until February 2, 2019, at nine Facebook pop-up shops at The Market @ Macy’s in various US cities.