Latest innovation boosts gums and jellies production market

Confectionery Production evaluates the trend for active ingredients in jellies and gums production, and discusses the latest innovations in technology catering to this sector. Daisy Phillipson reports

 

Sugar is the real dietary enemy, right? Ever since the so-called war on the sweet stuff began several years back, we’ve seen a number of initiatives introduced, including a sugar tax on certain products in the UK and areas of the US.
But that’s not to say it’s all doom and gloom. On the contrary, confectioners have increasingly turned to science to achieve the winning combination of great taste and better-for-you claims. Many brands have reformulated their ranges in response to these consumer preferences, such as Nestlé Confectionery which now offers 30 per cent reduced-sugar variants of its Rowntree’s Pastilles and Randoms sweets.

But it doesn’t end there. “In the US, we have seen tremendous growth in the nutraceutical and vitamin enhanced product sectors,” explained Jim Greenberg, president of Union Confectionery Machinery, a company that sells a wide range of second hand machinery for the production and processing of gums and jellies.

In order to meet market trends, a manufacturer must ensure their machinery is in line with the production process necessary to handle various recipes at high speed.

This certainly rings true for companies supplying the nutraceutical and vitamin industry. According to a Transparency Market Research report, the global gummy vitamin market is set to grow at a CAGR of 5.2 per cent over the next eight years, reaching $4.17 billion by 2025. Meanwhile, a separate report from Allied Market Research outlined that the world’s nutraceutical market is expected to reach $302.31 billion in 2022.
As the markets continue to grow, sugar confectionery processing suppliers are having to adapt to increased demand for such products.

This is where Tanis Confectionery comes in. As a leading global supplier of completely integrated systems for confectionery products, the company offers its T-Active line for the production of nutraceutical candy.
As pointed out by Sandra van der Vlugt, Marketing and Communication at Tanis Confectionery, an important industry trend is the addition of active ingredients to a wide range of gummy products. “Added vitamins, calcium and fibres and more have gained significant traction among consumers,” she explained.

In reply to this interesting trend, Tanis Confectionery recently updated its T-Gel line with improved accuracy. “As the prices of both active and basic ingredients have risen, this higher accuracy supports our customers in limiting these expenses,” added van der Vlugt.

Going starch-free
The trend in so-called medicated gums is heading for the addition of vitamins as well as the production of medical gum confectionery and OTC products, explained Thomas Kleppel, sales manager, WDS. “This development places pressures on the manufacturing process, for example the precision of depositing, as well as hygienic design and easy accessibility for cleaning.
In answer to this trend, along with specialised partner companies, WDS recently revealed the new Fast Forward Process technology – a starch-free production method that uses reusable silicone moulds instead of traditional starch trays.
Thanks to an innovative gummy formulation from GELITA, a novel cooking process adjusted to this new recipe and requirements developed by Hänsel and a new depositing line from WDS to handle the depositing of masses successfully, the gelatin gummy manufacturing time is slashed from one day to less than two hours.
The new process only requires some hundreds of reusable silicone moulds, compared to tens of thousands of starch trays previously. This subsequently leads to savings in energy costs and labour, while production space can also be minimised.

Accelerating the process
In a similar vein, leading supplier of food processing machinery for the confectionery industry, Baker Perkins, has been teaming up with major ingredient suppliers in a bid to minimise setting times for jellies and gums.
Utilising Baker Perkins’ ServoForm starch-free cooking and depositing systems, Rousselot has accelerated the gelation process of gummies in lab tests to as little as ten minutes, depending on the type of mould used with its new gelatin-based technology SiMoGel, made using porcine or bovine gelatin grades.

Another innovation from ingredient supplier CEAMSA uses carrageenan as the gelling agent to achieve gelatin-like textures in a vegetarian product. This opens up major markets such as India and the Middle East, where gelatin is unacceptable.

Keith Graham, Baker Perkins business development manager, starch-free depositing is especially relevant for functional and medicated jellies and gummies, such as vitamin and mineral supplements, where the starch process cannot be considered.

“Hygiene, particularly the elimination of cross-contamination of active ingredients, and strict recipe accuracy are critical, making starch-free depositing ideal through its consistent high-class products that support premium pricing and healthcare positioning,” added Graham.
And if you’re thinking it’s only the major players who can take advantage of this technology, the company also introduced its ServoForm Mini depositor – a flexible system for small batch production with outputs up to 54 kg/hour.
This brings the benefits of starch-free depositing to companies producing confectionery in small batches, including those making medicinal and healthcare products.

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