Catering to a growing number of health conscious consumers, functional ingredient supplier CAPOL is due to present confectionery finishing solutions and natural colour options at the upcoming trade fair in Cologne, ProSweets 2024. It aims to support confectionery manufacturers navigate new trends and changes driven by health consciousness within the industry.
This health-consciousness means consumers are gravitating towards products that meet their dietary needs and align with their lifestyles. This change in consumer behaviour has resulted in a surge in demand for healthier confectionery choices, characterised by reduced sugar content, more natural ingredients and the incorporation of functional benefits.
Transparent and clean ingredient lists have also become very important for consumers conscious of their nutritional choices. There is also growing interest in products that offer functional benefits including added vitamins, minerals and other nutritional enhancements. Alongside addressing these needs, consumers are recognising the importance of supporting emotional wellbeing and mental health.
Among emerging trends, the category of functional gummies has witnessed a boom in popularity. To ensure impeccable hygiene standards and to prevent any cross-contamination during the production of functional gummies, gummy manufacturers are transitioning from
traditional mogul plant production to starchless manufacturing lines. Whereas in a traditional setup the moulds, in which the gummy mass is poured, are shaped using a starch bed, the starchless technology uses predefined solid forms, including for example silicone, metal, or polycarbonate moulds.
Ensuring a smooth demoulding process for the gummies, as well as achieving an appealing finish in the oiling process, has become a crucial focus amid the adoption of starchless moulding technology. “Working closely with our customers, we identified that there are additional, critical needs in starchless applications when it comes to surface treatment of functional gummies,” explained AJ Khoury, Technical Director at CAPOL. “For instance, manufacturers frequently encounter issues concerning gummies that are excessively coated with oil, leading to a compromised product appeal and untapped efficiencies.”
Addressing the challenges associated with starchless molding, CAPOL has developed an innovative finishing system tailored specifically for starchless molded gum confections, set to debut at the upcoming ProSweets/ISM in Cologne in January 2024.
“The increasing emphasis on better-for-you snacking and conscious consumption remains one of the key drivers in ingredient selection and innovation within the confectionery industry,” noted Ann-Christin Meier, Head of Marketing and Communications at CAPOL.
This trend is largely fueled by consumer preferences, but regulations are also impacting on ingredient choices within the industry. Recent developments, such as the ban on red dye 3 in California, which has a profound impact on the entire US food industry, as well as ongoing discussions concerning the use of the whitening agent titanium dioxide underscore these implications. Using its long-standing expertise in providing natural ingredient solutions, CAPOL has developed alternative solutions to support candy manufacturers navigate necessary product reformulations and respond to these regulatory changes.
Attendees are invited to explore these solutions firsthand and discuss solutions with the CAPOL team at ProSweets 2024.
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Editor, International Confectionery
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