IN Brief:
- Natural menthol sourced through the Shubh Mint programme is entering chewing gum production in Britain and Poland.
- More than 24,000 Indian farmers have participated, with mint incomes more than doubling and production costs falling.
- Mars is extending the programme towards wider farm income, traceability, and long term ingredient resilience.
Mars is introducing traceable natural menthol from its Shubh Mint programme into chewing gum production in Britain and Poland, moving the agricultural initiative into routine European manufacturing.
More than 24,000 growers in India have participated in the programme since its launch in 2017. Mint incomes among participating farmers have more than doubled, while production costs have fallen by around 20% through changes to planting, irrigation, crop management, and access to improved material.
Natural menthol is highly concentrated geographically, with approximately 80% of global supply originating in Uttar Pradesh. Weather, declining yields, water pressure, farm economics, and processing capacity within a single region can therefore influence availability across international flavour and confectionery markets.
Mars developed the programme with agricultural specialist Tanager, initially using demonstration plots to show growers how different practices affected yield and cost. The gradual approach allowed farmers to assess the results before changing established production methods across larger areas.
As the programme expanded, its work moved beyond agronomy to include farmer organisations, access to markets, women’s groups, and community support. Mars is now developing a broader approach intended to improve income across the whole farm rather than treating mint as an isolated crop.
Integrating the resulting menthol into European chewing gum requires the ingredient to remain identifiable through aggregation, distillation, storage, transport, and final delivery. Because the harvested plant is transformed into a purified ingredient before reaching the factory, physical appearance alone cannot demonstrate its origin.
Lot records, processor controls, and documented custody must therefore connect the finished menthol with participating production areas. Once it reaches the factory, the material must meet the same purity, sensory, stability, and food safety specifications applied to other flavour ingredients.
Farm data enters manufacturing systems
Natural menthol contributes cooling intensity, aroma, flavour release, and the overall sensory profile of chewing gum. Differences in purity or composition can affect blending and dosage, making agricultural consistency relevant to recipe control and finished product approval.
Traceability allows procurement and quality teams to connect these technical measurements with information about origin and processing. When a batch performs differently, the available data can support investigation across the supply chain rather than ending at the immediate ingredient supplier.
Large food businesses are becoming more directly involved in primary production as climate and commodity risks increase. Similar programmes have extended regenerative farming practices across millions of acres supplying food and beverage operations, bringing agricultural performance into corporate procurement and manufacturing strategies.
Closer involvement can improve early visibility of disruption. Changes in planting area, irrigation, crop disease, or farmer profitability may emerge before shortages reach the international ingredient market, giving manufacturers more time to review inventories, qualify alternatives, or adjust production plans.
The concentration of natural menthol in Uttar Pradesh remains a structural exposure, even where farming practices and traceability improve. Severe weather or regional infrastructure problems could still restrict supply, so resilience will also depend on stocks, multiple processors, alternative origins, and the controlled use of synthetic menthol where formulations allow.
Natural and synthetic menthol can meet comparable chemical specifications, although product developers may identify sensory differences arising from purity, isomer profile, blending, and interaction with other flavours. Any substitution requires validation through processing trials, sensory assessment, and shelf life work before routine production.
Segregated supply can also increase administrative and physical handling costs. Warehouses and processors must prevent traced lots from being mixed with conventional material, while records need sufficient detail to support both quality investigations and sourcing commitments.
Those controls become more demanding as the programme moves from selected products into a wider brand portfolio. Production planners must coordinate ingredient availability with gum manufacturing schedules, while formulation teams need consistent material across several factories and market variants.
Mars is systematically embedding Shubh Mint material into European production after nine years of development. The shift places agricultural outcomes inside ordinary factory requirements, where the ingredient will be judged through availability, consistency, cost, food safety, and line performance.
The programme’s durability will depend on maintaining gains for growers while supplying manufacturers at commercial scale. Better farm income supports continued cultivation, but European factories also require predictable volumes and specifications through every production cycle.
By connecting those requirements, Mars is turning a sourcing programme into an operating supply system. The result provides a clearer line between farming conditions in Uttar Pradesh and the menthol used in chewing gum plants in Britain and Poland.
