Long heralded as a way to reduce overall sugar intake without cutting indulgences altogether, sugar-free confections give consumers a way to have their sweets and eat them, too.

"It’s no secret that the gum category overall has had its challenges but there are diamonds in the rough in every sector," says Tyler Merrick, founder and ceo, Project 7.

“We bit off more than we could chew, no pun intended,” Project 7 founder Tyler Merrick says. “I really had messed up, because not only was it hard to create a gum brand that fast, but to make it work for Whole Foods has its challenges. But we did it and he put it in nationally.”