This new Glossier-inspired chewing gum doesn't want to look like a chewing gum brand

Kim Crowdy has created the designs for new plant-based, plastic-free and biodegradable chewing gum brand, Oh My Gum! Founded by Malak Ben Hmeda, who previously worked in recruitment for luxury fashion and beauty brands, the gum is sold in packaging inspired by beauty brands and images to be "modern, sophisticated, slick and 'grammable'."

The brand was keen for the designs to be sustainable and bag-friendly and also not look like chewing gum. As such, there are no pictures of ingredients on the packaging.

"I wanted it to look like a beauty brand – like a lipstick that you would always carry in your bag," says Hmeda. "Kim and I created a mood board that was full of beauty brands like Glossier, Herbivore, Eve Lom, Byredo and fashion brands like Acne Studios. "The question was 'if those brands made chewing gum, what would it look like?' and 'What would it look like on the till/counter of a retailer like Space NK?'. Our decision making was based around the answers to these questions."

A simple all-caps typographic logomark is used as a nod to fashion brands like Celine and Gucci. "We were initially playing around with the idea of "OMGum!" as we thought the OMG part would capture attention quicker, but people did not read out properly, and it was easier and aesthetically more elegant to spell it out," says the brand.

The branding uses a pastel colour palette which is a knowing nod to the tones' Instagram-friendliness, and also looks to set the brand apart from the more bold colours usually associated with gum. The packs use a "buffer" element on both sides to ensure they're spill-proof and crush-proof.

"We tested out our final designs on friends and family before selecting the one," Hmeda adds. "In our last meeting at a cafe, we had the final mockups on the table, and the waitress asked if we were developing lipstick packaging and that it looked really cute. That confirmed to us that we had made the right decision and had achieved what we were looking for – eye-catching design that looked like a beauty brand."

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