Biodegradable chewing gum Nuud is launching today to challenge the problem of single-use plastic and shift habits for good in the category, supported by a bold and playful brand identity created by Mother Design.

Nuud is a start-up brand that aims to rid the world of the millions of tons of polymer contained in conventional, synthetic chewing gums. Its mission is to make chewing traditional gum the next plastic straw, and to offer a natural, sustainable alternative.

“Most people don’t know that regular chewing gum is made of single-use plastic and isn’t compostable. UK councils spend around £60 million a year cleaning up gum from our streets. We want to tackle this and effect a wholescale change in behaviour when it comes to chewing gum,” says Keir Carnie, founder of Nuud. “Our brand is designed to encourage this shift in a fun and engaging way. Made from the sustainably harvested tree sap chicle, Nuud gum decomposes as quickly as a banana skin – we want to bring this biodegradable choice to a mass audience.”

Disruptive and playful

The brand identity and visual execution support these ambitions. Created by Mother Design in collaboration with Carnie and Mother’s incubator arm Broody, it reinforces the brand’s personality, energy and messaging.
It is guided by the core sentiment of ‘fearless, fun, transparent and eco’ and the unapologetic strapline of ‘chew plants, not plastic!’. Nuud wants to disrupt the conventional gum category, while remaining accessible, but also challenging issues around transparency on ingredients in the sector. It also sets itself apart from its sustainable niche competitors, which tend to focus on health and softer messaging to promote their brands.

The design therefore emphasises the product’s freshness rather than solely its worthiness and plant-based provenance, creating a platform to inform and encourage in an active and engaging tone.
The key elements of the identity include a logo inspired by a clean, happy mouth. It is complemented by a friendly and playful mascot, gender-neutral Charlie designed by South Korean illustrator Daye Kim, to lend the brand a strong, approachable personality.

“With the inherent brand message and mission of changing chewing gum behaviour, it was important that the brand didn’t come across as militant or patronising,” explains Thomas Humeau, design director at Mother Design. “Nuud is tackling a serious issue but doesn’t want to come across as too worthy. Inspired by other food categories that often make use of a mascot, we introduced Charlie to help the brand communicate its
passion and inform users with levity.”

Designed for longevity

The identity will have a strong presence across different touchpoints, with all elements able to work in various contexts, such as on social media or merchandise. Both the logo and mascot exist as animations, adding a dynamism and fluidity to the brand executions.

The colour choices have remained true to cues within the gum category (blue for peppermint, green for spearmint), but the palette also includes a neutral grey as a platform for more campaigning or informative communications.
Carnie adds: “The visual identity perfectly expresses the brand’s personality and message – it has helped make the product universally appealing and accessible. Best of all, it makes our product stand out and feels instantly iconic. I have no doubt that showing our design helped convince some of the UK’s favourite retailers to buy into our proposition, supporting our mission of ridding our streets and planet of synthetic gum. We have just agreed a 200-store listing with Waitrose, which would not have been possible without the branding work by Mother Design.”

Nuud was introduced to Mother Design through incubator Broody which is part of the wider Mother family. Broody works with entrepreneurs to help them launch or accelerate their brands and businesses, giving them access to the creative and strategic expertise.

“Broody exists to turn great ideas into successful businesses,” says Pippa Dunn, Co-founder of Broody. “Keir had more than just a great idea, he also had a fabulous product, that we felt could make a big difference, to the world and our streets. With the help of Mother Design’s fresh and disruptive work, NUUD is on track to truly change the future of gum.”

Accessible to all

Nuud’s distribution strategy supports accessibility of the product and the brand’s goal of shifting consumer habits long-term. In addition to being stocked in store, Nuud is available in bulk from Amazon, and as a direct-to-consumer subscription service via the Nuud website so that fans can always have environmentally friendly gum to hand. It will be launched in Waitrose on 21st April.