Mentos UP2U

Sometimes, I'm all for gimmicks. The idea of the Mentos UP2U gum struck me as quite cute: two different types of gum in one pack, so the chewer can choose between fruity and minty. Since I'm physically incapable of resisting new gum when I see it, I bought this gum during a recent grocery store run.

While a slogan like a choice for every moment of the day seems like a major overstatement, I did like the packaging. With its bold colors and metallic accents, it was stylish and eye catching. Very current, right down to the strong social media tie-ins.


Being a fruity gum fan, I went for the Mandarin Strawberry first. It smelled like strawberry Mentos, and the flavor was mostly fake strawberry with hints of orange sherbet. It was tart and juicy with soft flavor crystals, and the overall chew seemed a bit on the firm side. I did find the initial fruitiness to be short-lived, only a couple minutes, leaving behind a vaguely tart but not unpleasant hint of citrus. There was no mint, but it did leave my mouth feeling cool and fresh without any staleness.


though not as beautiful as Trident Layers, the two-tone gum was quite pretty
Spearmint didn't push any flavor boundaries, but as far as an after-meal breath freshener, it did a fine job. As expected, the mint flavor hung around for a while, with the stronger stuff wearing off after about 5 minutes. I chewed for about 20 minutes, and could still detect a slight flavor when I threw it away. The crunchy flavor crystals were a welcome textural addition. Again, the chew was firm, but this one seemed to soften over time.

Both gums fall solidly in B+ territory.

UP2U on Facebook (feels more relevant than a website)

Vitamingum Fresh Spearmint

I am a chronic gum chewer, so I was quite excited to receive samples of Vitamingum Fresh from Vitaball, Inc. I must admit that I don't take a regular multivitamin (even though I'm pretty sure I have a bottle in the medicine cabinet) because I try to take in my vitamins through my diet, but the idea of vitamin gum is certainly appealing.

Vitaball sent 3 flavors of Vitamingum Fresh: Spearmint, Peppermint, and Cinnamon. I'm starting with Spearmint, because it was my favorite. Each 2 piece serving provides 10% daily value of 12 different vitamins, and something I noticed while sampling the gum was that I didn't compulsively pop piece after piece of gum, knowing that I could overload on vitamins. That's good - just ask my dentist.


At first, the tablets were firm, but after a little chewing, the gum softened to a pleasant, bouncy texture. The gum was intensely minty, cool, and refreshing - great for morning coffee breath - and had a nice spearmint flavor. Unlike Trident Vitality Vigorate, I didn't feel like I was chewing medicine or cough drops.

Since I'm not a nutritionist or doctor, I can't comment much on the vitamin aspect, but as a gum, Vitamingum Fresh is pretty good. The fresh flavor lasted a long time (weakening after 5-10 minutes, with a milder mint hanging around much longer), and the texture was right on.

A-

Check out another review at Gum Alert!

Vitamingum website

Ice Breakers Spearmint Ice Cubes

Well, I finally tried a kind of Ice Cubes that was "Whoa!" worthy, but not in a good way. This gum was so minty, a flavor crystal got lodged in my throat and it burned. Not a pleasant sensation. I'll have very nice breath, though, so I suppose it has that going for it. Aside from that, I found the spearmint to just be too sweet. I'm sure it's the artificial sweeteners doing it, but it reminded me of green Starlite mints, and I wish it didn't.

Again, my complaint is the same: these packs seem like a rip-off. Also, I'm partial to fruity/minty combo gum, so maybe I'm being too harsh.

B

Ice Breakers Website