Energy Gummies: A Major Vertical for Pharma Manufacturers
When you need a boost in the morning or midday, who doesn’t appreciate a quick and convenient solution?
Rather than buy a cup of coffee for it to go cold within the hour, energy gummies provide a sweet, chewable, and quick refuel to get through the day. Because of this, many consumers are looking for more gummy products to help them regain energy and focus.
Energy gummies are becoming one of the most sought-after product categories in the multibillion-dollar energy supplements industry. Rather than drinking a sugary energy drink or swallowing a supplement in softgel form, gummies provide a far more convenient option.
If you are looking to expand your gummy product line and offer a new energy supplement, this guide should help provide you with a starting point. We will review some common varieties of energy supplements used in consumer products and outline the necessary equipment to manufacture and package your new gummies in a scalable fashion.
Popular Energy Supplements
Caffeine
Caffeine is perhaps the largest and most widely used energy-fueling ingredient in most foods and beverages. It can help prevent you from feeling drowsy or losing energy while also helping to boost focus.
While it is technically an energy supplement, products that only contain caffeine as an active ingredient are also commonly called “caffeine gummies”. An energy gummy may contain caffeine but also some other ingredients alongside it.
Vitamin B12
B12 is a vitamin that is naturally occuring in many animal-based proteins and is an essential nutrient for maintaining healthy energy levels. It can also be sourced from other raw materials and added into a gummy vitamin. For people who do not eat meat, such as vegans, a B12 supplement can help ensure they are continuing to provide nutrients to their bodies without having to consume an animal byproduct.
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)
The body produces CoQ10 and is also found in a variety of meats and nuts. CoQ10 can help to reduce fatigue and provide the body with the ability to energy itself. People who experience CoQ10 deficiency can also benefit from taking a supplement to help correct this issue.
L-Carnitine
L-carnitine is another source of energy that the body naturally produces. It can also be created synthetically.
The human body uses L-carnitine to transform fat into a source of energy. It is a popular active ingredient for energy supplements due to its innate compatibility with human physiology. As such, it is one of the widely used active ingredients in over-the-county supplements.
Research Ingredients Before Using Them in Your Gummies
Please note that these are just some of the active ingredients that are commonly found in energy supplements. We do not endorse any specific one as the right one for your product line. For the sake of your own product quality and the safety of consumers, we recommend that you conduct thorough and independent research on any active ingredient before deciding to implement it in your manufacturing processes.
Manufacturing Energy Gummies
Manufacturing an energy supplement in gummy form follows the same standard manufacturing process.
The process occurs in three phases. The first one, Cooking, involves preheating the base ingredients in a kettle until they have reached their desired temperature. This slurry mixture is then placed into a storage tank where the final ingredients are added. Here, the energy supplement of your choice would be deposited into the mixture.
Once this phase has ended, the second phase known as Depositing and Cooling begins. After traveling through heated pipes to a hopper, the depositor will fill the cells in your mold with the slurry. It will then cool through a chilling tunnel to create its final shape.
Lastly, an optional coating can be added if desired. If not, the final step is quality control where factors like the quality of the packaging and water activity (aW) levels are reviewed.
Essential Equipment for Gummy Manufacturing
If you have not yet implemented a gummy manufacturing process at your facility, there are some essential pieces of equipment needed to go from the initial slurry to a finished, packaged product. These include:
- A complete gummy manufacturing system
- Coating machine
- Molds in custom or standard shapes
- Packaging machinery
Your packaging equipment can vary based on your brand requirements or personal preference. The most common form of packaging for any gummy product is a plastic bottle. This will require a bottle unscrambler as well as a capping machine and an optional induction sealer if you wish to create an additional layer of protection between the bottle’s lip and the cap.
Start Manufacturing Energy Gummies Today
At Gummy Technologies, our team of expert engineers have been serving the pharmaceutical industry for multiple decades. We design our solutions based on the real needs of the pharma manufacturers we interact with.
To learn more about the right equipment to start manufacturing energy gummies and other supplements at your facility,contact us today.