Traditional gummies aren’t cutting it as consumers shift toward cleaner ingredients and wellness applications. An article from Food Business News covering 2022’s IFT FIRST event reveals suppliers are pivoting toward alternatives that meet this demand.
Taking the “animal” out of gummy animals is one major area of innovation, but it is proving to be a challenging task. Mohammad Emami, Bartek’s Director of Marketing and Business Development, said pectin, a vegan hydrocolloid sourced from fruits, is a promising replacement for animal-based gelatin.
“Pectin, however, can be a troublesome ingredient for even the most skilled candy line operators,” with a narrow pH balance needed to produce stable candy, Emami said. That’s why Bartek introduced Pecmate pectin enhancer, a buffer salt made with sodium malate to keep pH levels in check.
The chemical increases throughput in production, reduces scrap rates, and speeds product development by “preventing pH creep caused by complex ingredients, such as nutritional actives, various vitamins, and natural colors common to gummy delivery systems,” Emami said.
Another area for suppliers to meet growing demand is the functional gummy market. Many consumers want gummies to taste good, but also sneak in nutritional benefits.
CPG Bioenergy Life Science Inc. occupies this space with RiaGev, a patented formulation including Bioenergy Ribose.
“It has a slightly sweet, clean taste while also providing cellular energy enhancement,” Bioenergy Life Sciences Director of Marketing Penny Portner said. “RiaGev supports concentration and motivation, and reduces fatigue.”
Food-tech company DouxMatok has its own sweet innovation with Incredo Sugar, which can reduce the sugar in pectin gummies by 40% with no sacrifice in sweetness.
By improving efficiency of sucrose delivery and dissolution to sweet receptors, the cane sugar-based ingredient “allows for a higher concentration of sucrose to dissolve around the receptors and enhances the perception of sweetness,” DouxMatok global marketing director Shiri Ranot said.
-Casey Flanagan, PMMI Media Group Editorial Assistant
