Technology innovations usher in new solutions in gummy delivery systems – article

Gummies that taste better than candy aren’t enough for today’s consumers. Shoppers have gotten savvier — and more demanding, especially as inflation-jacked prices stick around. When it comes to gummies, they’re looking for a better benefit payload. Flavor, texture and dosage challenges formerly limited what brands could create. Fortunately, technical innovations have opened the door to new product possibilities that can deliver not only taste, texture and convenience but a broader spectrum of nutrients in more efficacious, chewy doses.

More in demand than ever

Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ) analysts expect gummy sales to reach $15.9 million this year and $17.402 million by 2026. The squishy supplements already command about a quarter of market share. U.S. sales exploded by 75% in 2021 and 12.1% in 2022, the same year supplement industry growth dipped to a historic low of 1.9%.

But as sales grow, so does competition. Mintel’s Global New Products Database shows that between 2019 and 2023, launches of new gummy and chewy supplements increased by 212% with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 33%. “Much of this growth is built around innovation and new ingredients and conditions showing up in the gummy world,” according to NBJ experts.

To make these elevated products, brands need contract manufacturers with experience in this sticky format who can remain flexible and accommodate formulation specifications. Funtrition partners with brands and private labelers to bring new ingredients to market and provide clean, natural and plant-based solutions to gummy formulation challenges. A new 62,000-square-foot gummy manufacturing facility located in Miramar, Florida, provides added capacity and flexibility for brands, adding to the company’s existent Bogotá, Colombia-based manufacturing and research and development hub, which is also the home of their unique Inspiration Center. For those brands specifically requiring certified organic, Funtrition’s Colombian facility provides that capacity today, and the new U.S. facility soon will as well, pending certification.

Specializing in advanced gummy technologies for the global nutraceutical industry, Funtrition experts have developed more than 300 gummy formulations. They help launch over 50 new gummy products every year. With industry-leading regulatory expertise, the Funtrition quality system is rooted in more than six certifications. The company combines art and science in every product. Combining what the company calls “standardized flexibility” adapting to ever-changing market dynamics and client needs, they blend the creativity and sophistication of artisan candy-making with top-of-the-line manufacturing technologies to create top-quality supplements with extraordinary flavors and mouthfeel.

However, today’s consumers want more than great taste and mouthfeel. They want to see a broader spectrum of ingredient solutions offered and they want validation that efficacious doses are delivered without needing to chew a dozen gummies. How do you get there? Funtrition has developed unique proprietary systems.

Air-G: Advanced gummy solution for minerals

“Gritty” is definitely not on the list of descriptors formulators seek for gummy supplements. Until recently, however, gummies with minerals often had a grainy mouthfeel due to manufacturing challenges. “When trying to incorporate certain minerals in our formulations, such as calcium salts for instance, the result can be an unpleasant, sandy-like texture,” states the team at Funtrition. “There weren’t too many things we could do about this since these salts are not really soluble in water.”

“So, if we could not change the active, we had to change the gummy,” said the Funtrition R&D team. The critical innovation was to include air to alter the density of the syrup. This masks the grainy sensation. The new Air-G (Aerated Gummy) technology enables formulators to include minerals while delivering a soft, light, fluffy texture and an enjoyable chewing experience. Plant-based Air-G Gummies are also available.

Ingredients for categories such as bone health and sleep support, like vegetable proteins, magnesium and calcium, are exceptionally well-suited for aerated gummies, according to Funtrition. “In fact, they enhance the gummies’ behavior, contributing to a unique and enjoyable sensory experience.”

Layer-G: The solution for incompatible ingredients (and boring gummies)

Previously, manufacturers struggled to incorporate certain formulations of active ingredients that would be chemically incompatible when combined in a gummy format. Layer-G offers two different layers — and the potential for two previously incompatible ingredients — in one unique gummy that delivers a novel sensory experience. The top layer is a traditional gummy and the bottom is a velvety aerated gummy. This doubles formulators’ opportunities for active ingredients in previously impossible combinations.

SuperG: Solution for greens in gummies

Consumers are gobbling up supplements that complement their fruit and vegetable intake. Green supplement sales grew by 34% in the past year, reaching $93 million.¹ Powders and shots, however, are not the most convenient (nor often pleasant tasting) option and until now, gummy formatted greens that consumers prefer have eluded the market. Funtrition’s SuperG solution makes green gummies possible for a double feature, bringing a very trendy combination of ingredients together that feeds consumer cravings for super greens — in their favorite format. SuperG formulation is ready for development or customization in partnership with product brands’ requests and specifications.

Plant-based SuperG is rich in vitamins and a natural blend of fruits such as cranberry, pomegranate and elderberry, plus vegetables such as spinach, kale, cabbage, broccoli and spirulina to support a healthier digestive system and overall immune health. They have a tropical apple and lemon flavor with a short, clean bite in a flavorful, good-textured power-packed gummy that gives consumers super greens in a lower dosage.

These three innovative technologies further enhance Funtrition’s menu of advanced gummy offerings, which also include GummieX and Fill-G. GummieX is a technology that overcomes challenges in the supply chain by providing non-meltable products, a current challenge that is impacting many brands’ supply chain and distribution. The technology disrupted the market with a unique, adaptable mixture of hydrocolloids, eliminating the need for cold shipment and, perhaps most importantly, allows brands to reduce their costs.

Fill-G center-filled gummy technology empowers manufacturers to incorporate uncommon ingredients as well as actives sensitive to temperature or pH.

These diverse types of technological innovations mean brands can open up their pipeline for gummies that meet consumer demands for products featuring a broader scope of efficacious ingredients they prefer — in the format they love to take.

To learn more about how Funtrition can help brands make gummy concepts a reality, click here.

References:

1. SPINS Natural Channel, Amazon, MULO, Convenience (Powered by Circana) 52 weeks Ending 01.28.24, Amazon: 52 WE 01/31/2024.