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Using gum to deliver calm (and profits)

By Farnoosh Torabi | Special to amNewYork

January 15, 2007

Ken Levy, who is debuting NexZt Reactive gum. (Photo by Michael Casker / January 21, 2007)

Chew on this: The world spent $19 billion on gum last year, a 7% rise since 2003, according to the National Confectioners Association.

It's a testament to the global popularity of the everlasting, chomping candy. Aside from being a tasty treat that passes the time, gum has been found to distract hunger, soothe anxiety, boost concentration and, of course, freshen breath.

Ken Levy, a former environment and science journalist, has spent the past five years chewing on those very facts about the burgeoning gum industry. Now, the 50-year-old Brooklynite is about to debut an all-natural gum label of his own called NexZt Reactive.

He's invested close to $70,000 of his savings in the research, formulation, packaging and marketing of NexZt, which, he explained, can trigger a specific kind of reaction in the body -- be it calmness, alertness or appetite suppression.

"The ingredients are a delivery system," said Levy, who hopes his gum will create an entirely new category of its own. "I'm not trying to be the next Dentyne or Doublemint. I'm trying to come out with something bold and revolutionary," he said.

Like last week's small business profile of ScooterFood, Levy was a finalist in the recent PowerUP competition for small business owners in Brooklyn. His business plan helped him win $5,000.

In about two months, Levy said his chewing gums will be available in a few natural-foods stores in Brooklyn, including Back to the Land in Park Slope. He also has a few commitments from health-food grocers in Manhattan.

Levy said there's even interest abroad from retailers in the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan.

At the moment NexZt boasts four gum flavors, with all the ingredients approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The first is Zen, an orange-flavored gum infused with relaxing ingredients like chamomile and kava.

"I wanted to produce a product that wouldn't be habit forming, but would make you feel relaxed and sharp, mentally," said Levy. For added serenity, Levy came up with Zen Extra Strength, a berry-flavored gum with more of those mellowing agents.

"It delivers the [relaxing] effect a lot faster than a capsule. A capsule usually takes 25 minutes. ... The chewing gum takes four to five minutes," he said.

The other two gum types include an appetite suppressant based on the herbal supplement hoodia, and an energy-chewing gum called Velocity, which, Levy said, offers a "similar boost to an energy drink." One stick, he said, offers the equivalent jolt of drinking one-and-a-half cups of coffee.

The company's Web site, Nexztgum.com, is under construction, but Levy is responding to comments and questions about the business through ken@nexztgum.com.

Farnoosh Torabi is a video correspondent for thestreet.com. Reach her at amSmallBusiness@gmail.com.