Cafosa

What Cafosa does

Cafosa (CAFOSA GUM, S.A. Unipersonal) is a Spain-headquartered specialty ingredients manufacturer founded in 1984 and recognized as the world's leading gum base supplier. The company operates from Barberà del Vallès (Barcelona) and serves 150+ clients across 80+ countries with a portfolio of more than 100 gum base formulations used by confectionery manufacturers globally. Its core technology is proprietary gum base formulation — the structural, non-sweet, non-flavor component of chewing gum — protected by trade secrets accumulated over four decades and qualified to multiple food-safety and pharma-grade standards (FSSC 22000, ISO 9001, BRCGS, IFS Food, all certified by LRQA).

Cafosa operates two business lines: Confectionery (gum base for chewing gum and bubble gum manufacturers) and Health (the Health in Gum® excipient platform, commercialized through its Cafosa Health subsidiary since 2014, supplying pharmaceutical and nutraceutical customers). The Health business extends gum base technology into therapeutic delivery formats, including oral probiotic gum (AB:Dentalac, developed with AB Biotics), OTC cough and cold gum (developed with Geiser Pharma), and Aligner Chewing Gum for orthodontic users. Revenue mechanics follow a B2B specialty ingredient model, selling formulated inputs to multinational confectionery brands, pharmaceutical companies, and nutraceutical brands under supply contracts.

Ownership history reflects strategic interest from global chewing gum majors: Cafosa was acquired by Wrigley in 2004, then by Mars Inc. in 2008 as part of the Wrigley transaction, and divested to Grupo Resinas Brasil (Grupo RB) in October 2022. Today Cafosa operates as a subsidiary of the Brazilian industrial conglomerate Grupo RB, maintaining its Barcelona headquarters and global commercial footprint. The company does not disclose revenue, headcount, or other financial metrics publicly.

Name

Cafosa

Legal name

CAFOSA GUM, S.A. Unipersonal

Website

https://cafosa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cafosa is the world's leading gum base supplier, serving 150+ confectionery and pharmaceutical clients across 80+ countries with 100+ proprietary formulations from its Barcelona headquarters. Since 2022 it has operated as a subsidiary of Grupo RB.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Confectionery Ingredients

NAICS

Nonchocolate Confectionery Manufacturing (31134)

SIC

Sugar & Confectionery Products (2060), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Chewing Gum & Mints (CRADABAC)

Keywords

• Gum base manufacturing
• Chewing gum excipients
• Pharmaceutical excipients
• Medicated chewing gum
• Confectionery ingredients

Headquarters

HQ city

Barcelona

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Gum Base Sales: B2B sales of gum base formulations to confectionery manufacturers. Customers select from portfolio of 100+ gum bases tailored to their product requirements for texture, elasticity, and flavor retention. Revenue is generated through product sales with technical support services bundled into customer relationships.
2. Health in Gum® Excipient Sales: Sale of proprietary excipient powder to pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies for production of functional chewing gum products. Multiple grades available based on desired final product characteristics.
3. Technical Services: Product development, laboratory analysis, training, technical consulting, formulation advice, process optimization, and industrial scaling services provided to customers throughout the product development lifecycle.
4. Marketing Support Services: Ideation and concept development, competitive environment analysis, market and consumer intelligence, and launch strategy services for customers launching new chewing gum products.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cafosa manufactures and supplies more than 100 gum base formulations to confectionery manufacturers in 80+ countries, alongside the proprietary Health in Gum® excipient used to produce pharmaceutical and nutraceutical chewing gum. The company also markets finished functional chewing gum products (cough & cold, oral probiotic, aligner) and provides technical services to gum manufacturers.

Product overview

Cafosa is the world's leading gum base supplier with over 100 gum bases serving more than 150 clients in over 80 countries. The company operates as part of Grupo RB and offers a portfolio centered around confectionery gum bases (approximately 100 varieties determining texture, elasticity, bubble formation, and flavor retention) alongside a Health division (Cafosa Health) providing functional and pharmaceutical chewing gum products. Health products include the Health in Gum® excipient for direct compression applications, plus finished products: Cough & Cold Chewing Gum (with chlorhexidine/benzocaine), Oral Probiotic Chewing Gum (with Lactobacillus strains), and Aligner Chewing Gum (designed for use with invisible dental aligners). The company also provides comprehensive services spanning product development, laboratory analysis, technical training, and marketing support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Health in Gum®: Compressible powder ready for use in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications, serving as an excipient for functional and medicated chewing gum.
• AB:Dentalac

Products and services

• Confectionery Gum Base
• Health in Gum Excipient
• Cough & Cold Chewing Gum
• Oral Probiotic Chewing Gum
• Aligner Chewing Gum
• Services

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 100 gum bases available
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AB BioticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAB Biotics collaborated with Cafosa to develop the oral probiotic chewing gum product (AB:Dentalac). The product contains Lactobacillus plantarum KABP 051 (CECT 7481) and Lactobacillus brevis KABP 052 (CECT 7480) strains for oral health benefits including oral microbiota balance, effective colonization, and antimicrobial properties.
• Geiser PharmacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeiser Pharma collaborated with Cafosa to develop the Cough & Cold chewing gum product containing Chlorhexidine 5mg/Benzocaine 5mg for relief of minor bucopharyngeal infections. The product is manufactured in Spain following GMP standards and registered in various European countries.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Fertin Pharma: Danish B2B developer and manufacturer of medicated chewing gum and oral delivery systems for pharma and nutraceutical customers. Fertin is the closest direct comparable to Cafosa, competing head-to-head in functional/medicated gum excipients and finished gum formats for global pharma brands.
• SPI Pharma: US-based pharmaceutical excipient and drug delivery company offering taste-masking, chewable, and orally disintegrating tablet technologies. SPI Pharma overlaps with Cafosa Health in enabling pharma customers to deliver actives through oral, chewable formats.
• Roquette: French global leader in polyols, starches, and pharmaceutical excipients, including chewing gum-grade polyols and excipient systems. Roquette competes with Cafosa's Health in Gum® offering on the excipient side and supplies gum manufacturers with carbohydrate-based raw materials.

Broad incumbents

• Perfetti Van Melle: Global confectionery major (Mentos, Chupa Chups, Fruittella, Brooklyn) and one of the largest chewing gum manufacturers worldwide. As a major buyer of gum base, Perfetti is both a customer and adjacent competitor defining end-market demand trends that drive Cafosa's volumes.
• Mars, Incorporated: Former parent of Cafosa (2008–2022) and owner of Wrigley, the world's largest chewing gum manufacturer. Mars is both a historical acquirer of Cafosa and a vertically integrated competitor whose captive gum base production sets the benchmark Cafosa competes against externally.
• Mondelēz International: Global confectionery leader (Trident, Stride, Chiclets, Cadbury, Halls) with significant gum operations. Mondelēz is a major external buyer of gum base and defines specifications and pricing dynamics for Cafosa's core confectionery segment.
• Wacker Chemie: German specialty chemicals company supplying cyclodextrins, silicone polymers, and other excipient technologies used in oral care and pharmaceutical applications. Wacker is a broad incumbent whose specialty polymers compete with components of gum base and functional oral delivery systems.
• Ingredion: Global ingredient supplier providing starches, sweeteners, and texturizers to food and confectionery manufacturers, including gum producers. Ingredion competes with Cafosa on selected carbohydrate and texturizer inputs and serves the same confectionery customer base.

Emerging players

• AB Biotics: Spanish probiotic developer that co-developed Cafosa's AB:Dentalac oral probiotic chewing gum. AB Biotics is both a customer of Cafosa's Health in Gum® excipient and an emerging player in the functional/probiotic oral health category that overlaps with Cafosa Health's growth thesis.

Others

• Cargill: Global agricultural and food ingredient conglomerate with a deep portfolio of sweeteners, oils, and specialty ingredients used by gum manufacturers. Cargill is a broad ingredient ecosystem participant rather than a direct gum base competitor, but it shares Cafosa's confectionery customer relationships and raw material supply dynamics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cafosa