DENVER, Colo. — The pandemic heightened an awareness for health and wellness, and a new Colorado product is giving us something to chew on when our bodies need a boost on the go.
You're in good company this week with Liquid Core Gum.
You might have seen snazzy SOLO cars driving around town advertising a new type of energy gum. Apollo is one of the brands under Denver's Liquid Core company.
"With that liquid core that we have, it gets in your system faster than a beverage," said Liquid Core founder and CEO Troy Widgery.
Widgery previously started Go Fast Energy Drinks, but he said chewing gum is a better way to get nutrients to the body.
"The liquid core was the best delivery system to deliver energy with gum," he said. "And, that's evolved to health and wellness because of COVID, and just the evolution of functional gums."
Functional gums have been a trend in Europe for some time, but Widgery said they only started to take off in the United States once Tiger Woods won The Masters in 2019 while chewing gum.
"We didn't know, or pay attention to, the science of the cognitive and brain boosting benefits you get from chewing," Widgery said. "Once Tiger won, we started paying attention to that."
You can find Liquid Core gums under brands like Apollo, Golf Gum, or Life's Gum at convenience stores and pro shops, often in their touch free dispensers. And, each piece contains a certain amount of vitamins and supplements help the immune system, increase focus, or ease anxiety.
"You'll see supplement companies and stuff — we call it pixie dusting," Widgery said. "They'll just sprinkle a little bit of an ingredient in there so they can have it on the label. We actually put a beneficial quantity of each ingredient."
It's turned some people's everyday chewing habit into a much more intentional practice of staying on the move.
Each piece of their energy gum contains 80 milligrams of caffeine, the same as a regular cup of coffee, and you're left with fresh breath.
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