Sugarbreak addresses childhood obesity and diabetes with craving-curbing chewables

31 Mar 2021 --- Sugarbreak, a supplement brand helping curb sweet cravings and sugar intake, is launching a children’s line across North American Target retailers.

The new kids’ line consists of three products – Resist, Stabilize and Reduce – with natural ingredients that emulate the recently launched adult line. Two of the new variants replace the adult capsules with chewables for younger consumers.

“Not so long ago, Type 1 diabetes was called ‘juvenile diabetes,’ because children predominantly had Type 1,” Scarlett Leung, co-founder and CEO of Sugarbreak, tells NutritionInsight.

The nomenclature of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes was introduced as increasingly more children being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes due to heightened obesity rates and other lifestyle and environmental factors.

“To solve this issue in the adult population, we need to address children first. Seventy percent of those with childhood obesity continue to be obese as an adult and one in three adults then becoming pre-diabetic or diabetic,” Leung highlights.

Sugarbreak Kids swaps adults’ capsules out for soft chewables.

The gummies’ design
The inspiration behind choosing the chewable delivery format came directly from parents and current customers. 

“No matter how good our products are, it wouldn’t matter if having it was seen as a punishment to the child. Gummies are a popular form factor that children recognize and enjoy consuming,” says Leung.

She and her Sugarbreak team tested over 100 natural flavor combinations before devising the final products. The children’s line uses only natural flavors extracted from fruits and vegetables, with berry and apple cinnamon flavors as the ultimate winners.

“We also wanted our gummy to be a reasonable size, but not compromise the amount of ingredients we wanted it to hold. The berry shape was the best shape for that.”

Overall, consumption safety was a primary concern, resulting in all ingredients being Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS)-certified. 

Curbing sugar cravings
Resist Kids is made with Gymnema sylvestre, a leaf extract that mimics the sugar molecule and temporarily blocks sweet tastes in foods. The mint strip can block sweet tastes in foods for up to an hour, made with wild mixed berry and peppermint extracts for a fresh taste.

Stabilize Kids and Reduce Kids both arrive in chewable formats. Blocking excess carb and sugar absorption, Stabilize Kids consists of white mulberry leaves to minimize post-meal blood sugar spikes and crashes.

“No matter how good our products are, it wouldn’t matter if having it was seen as a punishment to the child,” says Leung.Reduce Kids is a blend of Gymnema sylvestre, cinnamon, zinc, vitamin C and D to help maintain healthy blood sugar levels and support the immune system.

The launch at Target further makes these solutions affordable and accessible, says Sugarbreak.

Sugarbreak’s inaugural retail partnership will come to life with custom branded shelves in all 1,809 North American Target brick and mortar locations, as well as availability on its online platform.

Commercial considerations
The launch at Target further makes these solutions affordable and accessible, says Sugarbreak.

Sugarbreak’s inaugural retail partnership will come to life with custom branded shelves in all 1,809 North American Target brick and mortar locations, as well as availability on its online platform.

When asked if adults could also take the children’s supplements if they prefer chewables, Leung responds: “Absolutely.”

“However, the amount of active ingredients is lower due to it being formulated for a younger population. We were able to price the kids’ line at a lower price for one of our products due to the smaller dose of active ingredient used.”  

By Anni Schleicher