The “punk health” demands of young people have also made gummy candies a carrier of functional ingredients: lutein, probiotics, and dietary fiber are all being added to gummy candies. Coupled with the “0-sugar” formula, gummy candies have directly shed the label of “sweet burden”.
This continuous evolution has enabled gummy candies to grow in popularity despite the trend towards reduced sugar content. According to Sullivan Research, gummy candies have become one of the few candy subcategories that have continued to grow in recent years. According to BCG Consulting’s prediction, from 2023 to 2029, the annual growth rate of the gummy candy category is expected to reach 13.95%.
In the trillion-dollar confectionery market, how can candy brands keep up with the pace of category innovation?
Justgood Health, which is dedicated to providing one-stop innovation solutions for food and beverage customers, has brought a complete set of solutions and systematic toolboxes for the candy category, including recompounding solutions to increase the temperature resistance of soft candies, tools to regulate the elasticity and chewiness of soft candies to achieve multiple textures and flavors, and innovations in sugar reduction without sacrificing flavor.
Whether it’s the recompounding solution to increase the temperature resistance of soft candies, or tools to regulate the elasticity and chewiness of soft candies to achieve different textures and flavors, or innovations in sugar reduction without sacrificing flavor, all of these can be found from Justgood Health.
Next, this article will combine the trends of the candy industry to showcase Justgood Health’s unique solutions in the gummies field and unlock the inspiration for sweet innovation.
The second half of the trillion-dollar gummies market: Gummy candies lead the way
“In today’s gummies industry, it is estimated that seven out of ten companies have ventured into the gummies business.” By 2025, gummy candies have become the mainstream direction for candy product innovation.
With their portability, ease of consumption, ease of sharing, and unique chewing experience, gummy candies can seamlessly integrate into various consumption scenarios such as office snacks, outdoor travel, fitness supplements, children’s complementary foods, social sharing, and stress relief. According to data from BCG Consulting, the global gummy candy market is expected to grow from 148.428 billion yuan in 2023 to 329.016 billion yuan during the forecast period from 2023 to 2029, with an average annual growth rate of 13.95%.
As consumers’ demands for novel flavors, fun, appearance quality, and social attributes continue to rise, gummies are constantly innovating towards being delicious, visually appealing, and fun to play with.
(1) Delicious and interesting, creating novel experiences
The diverse creativity in texture, shape, color, and gameplay of gummy candies perfectly aligns with the preferences of the new generation of consumers, who seek novel experiences and are willing to share on social media.
(2) Functionality, Sugar Reduction, and Health Drive Simultaneously
Apart from taste and appearance, consumers’ demand for sugar reduction and their expectations for nutrition are also driving the healthification of gummies. Apple cider viengar, Lutein, Caffeine, GABA, Creatine, Shilajit… These functional ingredients combined with gummies have opened up new opportunities for gummies in the functional food sector. According to the data from China Research Institute, from 2020 to 2024, the annual compound growth rate of the functional gummy candy industry in China reached 22.3%, far exceeding the growth rate of the traditional gummies industry. Some brands achieved monthly sales of 20,000 units within 3 months of their establishment for 4 SKUs.
The trend of reducing sugar has also spread to the candy market. In 2023, the domestic market size of sugar-free candies increased by 9.6% year-on-year. IMO soft candies have a sugar reduction rate of up to 86%-92% compared to traditional candies.
Experience First + Healthy Enjoyment, Justgood Candy Innovation Solution
The processing of candies involves multiple steps such as raw material selection and pre-treatment, sugar dissolution, boiling, seasoning, pouring and shaping, and drying. High requirements are imposed on the formulation and process control. Justgood, relying on its comprehensive capabilities, can provide manufacturers with a comprehensive solution for candy innovation, helping brands seize the opportunities for innovation in candy texture and healthiness.
The Justgood texture innovation solution, through raw material iteration and precise structural design, enables soft candy products to achieve breakthroughs in taste and performance.
1. Enjoy the Delight: Strawberry-flavored Chewy Soft Candy
Does the soft candy stick together in summer or is it difficult to chew? This might be related to the “framework” components of the soft candy. Many soft candies use gelatin (often derived from animal bones or skin) to create elasticity, but it is sensitive to temperature and the taste might be too tough.
Justgood has carefully designed a compound solution to upgrade the “framework” of the gummies. Compared to the conventional solution, it not only creates a fresh and crisp new taste, but also can increase the temperature resistance by 2-3°C, providing better protection for storage and transportation in summer, and aligning with current consumers’ preferences for label-friendly and plant-based formulas.
Solution highlights: Taste: Soft and elastic, refreshing and crisp, with low pulling sensation; Stability: Compared to pure gelatin soft candies, the temperature resistance can be increased by 2-3°C, which is more conducive to maintaining the shape of the soft candy during summer transportation and storage.
Justgood raw materials: Sweetener solution: Malt syrup, trehalose; Texture solution: Pectin PG series
Multilayer textured gummies are exuding unique charm: When you bite into one, you first experience a just-right chewy texture, followed by the large inner core that accounts for over 50% of the size of the gummy, which instantly melts in your mouth, releasing a rich and genuine fruit flavor. Behind this is actually a technical challenge: How to allow two completely different textures to coexist stably within the same gummy?
Key features: Taste: Outer skin has a chewy texture, the core is tender/soft, Stability of 50% oversized core: The texture remains stable during the shelf life, keeping the outer skin dry and the inner core moist and healthy. Healthiness: It can contain inulin dietary fiber, which helps maintain normal intestinal function.
Justgood Sweetener Solution: Maltose syrup, seaweed sugar
Nutrition expansion, satisfying healthy enjoyment
In terms of nutritional innovation, Justgood integrates functional nutrition with the sweet experience of gummies. Through technological means, it meets consumers’ dual demands for “tasty” and “healthy”.
1. Delicious iron supplement: Red date-flavored iron-rich gummy candy
In today's fast-paced society, people may occasionally feel tired and have a lackluster complexion. One common reason for this is that the body doesn't have enough iron. Traditional iron supplementation methods (such as supplements) often irritate the stomach or have a distinct metallic taste, making it difficult to swallow and hard to adhere to.
Justgood's engineers came up with an ingenious idea to incorporate iron supplementation into the red date-flavored gummy candy. By combining four different types of iron elements, the iron in the gummy candy can be absorbed more smoothly by the body, thereby reducing the disturbance to the stomach.
Highlights of the plan: Healthier: Sugar-free formula, with 4 layers of iron elements (EDTA iron sodium salt, heme iron, glycine iron, glucose acid iron), each (4g) contains up to 4.5mg of iron; Taste and flavor: Firm texture, chewy; Natural sweetness, refreshing taste of dried dates; Pure flavor, no rust-like taste; Stability: Stable texture during shelf life, sugar-free system still keeps the sugar dry, gel system has good stability, introducing high-load functional raw materials, the process is friendly and easy to operate.
2. Sugar-free solution: Sugar-free sweet orange soft candy
Sugar in traditional soft candies not only provides sweetness but also maintains the shape and texture of the soft candy. Therefore, the sugar-free process of soft candies requires comprehensive consideration of the product texture. The R&D engineers of Justgood used their pectin solution to reshape the framework of the soft candy, enabling it to maintain a firm state even in a sugar-free environment.
In terms of the sweet flavor solution, Justgood used a combination of isomaltulose and erythritol. They do not have a bitter aftertaste but provide a refreshing and natural sweetness. In terms of nutrition, each soft candy contains 30mg of vitamin C, equivalent to half the content of an orange.
Plan highlights: Healthier: Sugar-free formula, healthy and light burden, each adding 30mg of vitamin C; Taste and flavor: Soft and tender texture, not sticky to the teeth, refreshing and natural sweetness, fast flavor release, rich fruit flavor; Stability: Stable during the product's shelf life, sugar-free system still maintains dry sugar; Not easy to melt at high temperatures (within 60°C), conducive to maintaining the shape of the soft candy during summer transportation and storage.
How to Reduce Sugar Without Losing Flavor?
Reducing sugar is not simply about "removing sugar", but rather a comprehensive design of flavor and taste.
To achieve the goal of "reducing sugar without losing sweetness", the first step is to select alternative zero-calorie or low-calorie sweeteners as the source of sweetness. However, when the source of sweetness changes, the taste will also change. At this time, the compound texture solution provided by Justgood (if gelatin and carrageenan form a "combination punch") can precisely restore the soft and elastic texture of the candy, and even create new chewing enjoyment.
If you need to further enhance the health attributes, the Justgood Fiber psyllium series can also be incorporated into the product. Adding this series can subtly increase the dietary fiber in the candy. And dietary fiber helps maintain normal intestinal function.
Sweetener options: Include full-calorie sweetener options, low-calorie sweetener options, high-potency sweeteners, and zero-calorie sweeteners.
Post time: Apr-13-2026