Funds will be used to boost the brand’s headcount, develop NPD, and increase brand awareness - as well as for working capital. The new brand aims to highlight the plastic waste issues associated with regular gum and offer a natural, sustainable alternative.

Polyethylene is used in plastic bags and is also one of the main culprits behind the 21 million tonnes of micro-plastics thought to be in the Atlantic Ocean .

Our amazing National Smile Month partners

He said: "I would relate this to the craft beer boom and Heineken was slow to react to that boom. What they ended up doing five, six seven years later, was investing in market-leading disruptors that had showed more adaptability to changing consumer trends.

Carnie, who pitched the brand on Dragons’ Den earlier this year– to no avail– said he was “over the moon” to have partnered with Laing and Williams. “It’s such a huge opportunity to be able to learn from their success. This partnership will accelerate the growth of the business and our ability to solve the plastic gum problem for good.” An entrepreneur from Bristol appears to be well on his way to proving the Dragons' Den tycoons wrong. Usually red or yellow in colour, mouth ulcers are painful sores that can appear inside the mouth and also on the outer lips. Instead of using plastic in the gum base, Nuud uses ‘sustainably’ harvested tree sap called Chicle, which it says helps gum to biodegrade naturally like banana skin.Soha is Head of Scientific Engagement at Johnson & Johnson. Soha brings a strong foundation as a Periodontist across NHS, private, hospital and specialist practice together with extensive experience in both R&D and the commercial areas of industry. Deborah Meaden explained she loved what Mr Carnie was doing but it didn't mean it was a good investment for her. She said that once people find out that the market leaders are using plastic in their gum products, they will spend millions just changing their own products, they would not acquire the small businesses already making plastic free gum.