How BETC and Air France Are Easing Flyers’ Ears with French-Flavoured Gum

Take off and landing can be hell for flyers as the topsy-turvy cabin pressure messes with our ears. One remedy for the painful blocking is the act of chewing - and with this in mind, Air France and its agency BETC are looking to soothe passengers with custom made chewing gum in two quintessentially French flavours: creme brulée and pistachio macaron. 

“Our goal was to create the very first dessert offered as a chewing gum,” says BETC managing director Tiphaine Du Plessis. “And a French dessert on top of that!”

BETC collaborated with a flavour manufacturing team and a chewing gum factory in France to make the two flavours a reality, with blind tasting tests a regularity. For them and the client, it was essential that the gum truly reflect the taste and aroma of the respective flavours - and it was this attention to detail that led to the omission of two other planned flavours. 

“We had it in our mind to create tarte tatin chewing, but it turned out that it was very tricky to recreate the flavour of the dessert. The apple taste always ended up being too strong,” says Tiphaine. “We also tried conceiving a strawberry macaron flavour but the end result was a bit too bitter. The pistachio macaron and creme brulée flavours were the right fit for this operation.”

The gum is on offer at various Air France lounges at Paris airports Charles de Gaulle and Orly, and at Paris lifestyle store Colette. But if you just can’t wait to get your chops around this Willy Wonka style confectionary it’s also available online at Air France Shopping. 

The project is all part of BETC’s ongoing ‘France Is In The Air’ positioning for the brand - and what better way to bring that to life than with the taste of creme brulée that never goes away? 

“The airline industry is a very competitive market,” says Tiphaine. “We wanted to find a way to express our brand positioning and differentiation to create value and preference for client. 

“Flying Air France is like having a taste of France. This operation is a perfect embodiment of this overall strategy.”