Natural Alternatives to Synthetic Chewing Gum

Guest Bio: Deborah Schimberg, CEO of Verve, Inc.

Deborah Schimberg is the founder and CEO of Verve, Inc., producer of two natural, eco-friendly candy lines: Glee Gum and Make Your Own Candy Kits.

Schimberg founded Verve in 1995 as a result of her interest in sustainable development. On a visit to an economically depressed community in the rain forest of Northern Guatemala, she learned about chicle—the tree sap from which all chewing gum was made, before 100% synthetic bases became the norm. Finding that the sustainable harvest of chicle benefits both the rain forest and the local economy, Schimberg felt inspired to create a market for it in the States. Building on the popularity of Verve’s first product, the Make Your Own Chewing Gum Kit, Schimberg developed the brand Glee Gum. One of the only gums still made with chicle, Glee Gum is now the leading natural chewing gum on the market. Verve’s products are sold in specialty stores throughout the US and Canada, with recent expansion in the EU and South Korea. They have been featured on The View, the Martha Stewart Show, Rachael Ray Show, the Food Network, and in the pages of Bon Appétit, Women’s World, Wall Street Journal, Women’s Health, and more.

Schimberg is a serial social entrepreneur. After graduating from Brown University in 1979, she started the Southside Community Land Trust, a nonprofit urban environmental organization in Providence. She subsequently founded the International Charter School, a dual language immersion elementary public school in Pawtucket, RI. She has served as the Executive Director of Social Venture Partners of Rhode Island, an organization of private sector members that helps nonprofit organizations to grow earned income ventures. She also has taught social entrepreneurship at Brown University.

Ms. Schimberg holds an Ed.M. from Harvard University. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Providence Community Library, Southside Community Land Trust, and the Brown University Entrepreneurship Program. She lives in Providence, RI and speaks Spanish, French, and Chinese.