"Chew more. Do more."

That's the motto of Kevin Gass and Laurence Molloy, co-founders of gum maker GumRunners LLC.

The two have apparently taken their own advice because they‚ve been doing a lot lately.



In January 2003 no store carried GumRunners‚ premier product ˆ Jolt, a caffeine-infused energy gum. Now the gum is carried in almost 45,000 stores nationwide, and just debuted at Target last month.

Despite earning their livings in what Gass described as "the Willy Wonka business," the co-founders have come to learn that making gum isn‚t for Oompa-Loompas.



A $3.4 billion business in the United States alone, competing with icons like Wrigley‚s Juicy Fruit and DoubleMint gums, and Cadbury Adams‚s popular Dentyne, Trident and Bubblicious brands would be nothing if not difficult.

Gass and Molloy both quit good-paying marketing jobs with large consumer products companies to pursue their dream of creating their own company. As a result of their experience they knew from the start that in order to carve a profitable niche for themselves they would need to offer something innovative.



That was the genesis of Jolt energy gum.

Innovation, Gass explains, is creating an entirely new product. Simple activity, in the gum industry at least, means doing little more than recycling flavors, he says.