UK confectionery expert Andy Baxendale is helping to launch sugar-free gum in Guyana after agreeing a deal to help the country’s leading sweet manufacturer.
Andy has just returned from the South American country’s capital, Georgetown, where he taught staff at Edward B Beharry and Co. Ltd how to pan the glossy exterior for the gum.
The company is trying to capture the local market before possibly exporting its new product, to take advantage of the move towards sugar-free sweets. The centre of the gum is also being made in-house.
Machinery for the gum production was installed two weeks before Andy’s arrival and he taught staff the art of panning using xylitol as a replacement for sugar.
Andy, from Wigan, said: “The process is to make a solution of the xylitol, spray it onto the gum centre and when it reaches the desired weight take it out of the pans and let it dry. Once dry it can be polished to a high shine.
“The staff had no experience when I went – I taught them from scratch, both processing and product knowledge.”
