Video interview exclusive: Tanis succeeds with Guinness World Record gummy attempt

A celebratory mood is in the air at Tanis Confectionery equipment, as the company gains a landmark achievement in creating the world’s largest ever gummy sweet, reports Neill Barston.

As we previously revealed, the company’s Guinness World Record Attempt over the past few days, measuring 2 ½ x 2 x 1 metres, stands as a key technical triumph ahead of its planned exhibiting appearance at this year’s Interpack between 4-10 May in Dusseldorf.

Speaking to Confectionery Production on its achievement for an exclusive video interview, Wouter Tanis, chief marketing officer, believed there was significant optimism within its ranks ahead of its return to the major packaging and processing trade fair. “We are just really excited we pulled it off. There was a lot of teamwork behind the scenes, because it was not easy! It was so fulfilling,” he explained of its key team challenge, which is now set to prove a major centrepiece of its appearance at Interpack.

As the ambitious young management team member and chief marketing officer explains to Confectionery Production, the company has placed considerable energy into formulating its plans for a significant showcase at this year’s much-anticipated show in Dusseldorf. After six years in the making, he agrees that the week-long trade fair, which last time attracted more than 170,000 visitors from across packaging and processing sectors, is set to be a particularly memorable occasion.

Since forming in the mid 1990s, Tanis retains its strong reputation for confectionery processing lines across hard and soft candy, which evolved into a specialism for creating high quality machinery targeting the production of gummies. It has also expanded its horizons over the past decade in delivering complete production machinery catering for the fast-rising nutraceutical market segment. In response, there will be a broad range of its technology being showcased on its booth in Düsseldorf (Hall 3, Stand C20), along with one or two special surprises, which its chief marketing officer believes are set to deliver real impact for the business.

“Our preparations for Interpack are going really well – we of course had a template as we had everything ready for the 2020 event (cancelled due to the pandemic), so we had three extra years to make it even more fun and better for our attendees that we expect this time. “We’ll be showcasing a lot of machinery, including a complete kitchen and moulding line for 4,000kg an hour, starchless moulding line for 500kg per hour, and a full pilot line for 300kg an hour,” explains Wouter, who says there’s been a significant amount of planning going into its twin-level stand, which the company is hoping will attract a broad audience from around the world.

If the last show was anything to go by, then the level of expectation is reaching a high level with the event showcasing equipment, systems, as well as a significant insights and knowledge programme being just around the corner. “The thing that makes the event special to us is that it’s the only event that will supply information into all markets that we are involved with – we’re in the candy business, and also the vitamin business, as well as cannabis product business, and all people from all over the world will come to Interpack as they all know it.

There’s a lot of work that goes into it all, but I cannot wait,” adds the marketing officer, who says its teams are being kept occupied with a number of special projects, including the now successful record attempt to create the world’s largest gummy product, which offered a complex technical challenge for its engineers, who were delighted at the completion of their mission.

As noted in our focus article for our May special edition, there have been significant technological steps made since the hosting of the last edition of Interpack, particularly in terms of a drive towards greater automation levels, and broader digitally-controlled features that are becoming increasingly sophisticated. According to Wouter, this is very much the case for Tanis in continuing to deliver advanced features for its production lines, which also have a major focus on creating enhanced levels of efficiency across its portfolio of confectionery machinery.

Family connections
On a personal level, he adds that it remains hugely enjoyable to play a central part of the family-owned company’s ongoing journey of success, including driving its OTC candy equipment ranges. As he reveals, this segment of the firm, which he was responsible for starting up nearly five years ago, continues to show some especially significant potential on an international level.
“I am really proud to be part of the business. Not everyone knows this, but my grandfather was already in the industry founding the Ter Braak company, and then my dad also grew up within the candy industry and started Tanis.

“So, now I am here with my brothers as part of the next generation of the business. “My dad is still with the company, and we’re incredibly proud to be continuing that heritage and to showcase what we can do – we’ve been growing a lot in the past few years, and we have a lot to show.” Noting the company’s achievements, he explains the evolution of its moulding lines for gums and jellies over the past 15 years have given the company a distinct point of difference from its competitors. During that period, he reflects that the company went from employing around 60 employees, to its present total of more than 300 people across the world.

As Wouter observes on the OTC end of the business, he says the market is continuing to evolve rapidly, which has prompted a corresponding response from industry. “We’re seeing now in the vitamin, mineral and any active ingredients that there have been a lot of trends, which results in the market booming that we have seen with elderberry, CBD and Ashwagandha now, which will grow for a few years, and then it will dim down a little when another ingredient becomes trendy,” he explains, adding that the company is well placed to support flexible manufacturing with its equipment lines for a wide range of gummies and jellies in particular.

Innovation centre
Another integral part of the company’s development in the past few years has been the arrival of its innovation centre, which Wouter has hailed as central to its ongoing success. “That’s been really significant for us – we don’t identify ourselves as machine makers, rather as partners in candy making, and the innovation centre is a big part of that. We opened it in 2020 with a pilot line, lab equipment and food technologists working on improving recipes and equipment, which has been a huge benefit for us, as traditional candy knowledge isn’t so easy to attain. “So the innovation centre is really important to us, and is one of the main things that we’ve invested in as a business,” he adds of the forward-thinking company that is looking forward with positivity to showing the processing and packaging world its full capabilities at what looks to set to be the must-see event of the year in Düsseldorf.