Dec

What You Need to Know About Making Organic Gummy Vitamins

Organic gummy vitamins are a popular and growing product category. As more consumers seek out natural and organic products, manufacturers are responding with a wide range of gummy vitamin options. While traditional gummy vitamins are made with synthetic ingredients, organic gummy vitamins are made with natural fruit juices, sweeteners, and colors.

Today, we are going to cover everything that you need to produce organic gummy vitamins, whether you are an in-house or contracted pharmaceutical manufacturer. Let’s start by reviewing exactly what “organic” means for consumer products.

What Classifies Gummy Vitamins as “Organic”?

In terms of consumer products, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) restricts how the word “organic” can be displayed on product packaging.

For vitamin, supplement, food item, and beverage manufacturers, their products must meet certain requirements to be eligible for USDA organic labeling. These include:

Overseen by a certifying agent authorized by the USDA NOP
Produced without methods that are considered excluded or prohibited (such as genetic engineering)
Manufactured using allowed substances
Compliant with all other regulations for organic production

Furthermore, there are varying degrees of organic designations that a manufacturer can include in their labeling. As an example, if you include some organic ingredients but others that are not, you are able to still call out partially organic formulas in specific fashions.

The USDA also provides the following terms that you can use to market your gummy vitamins as organic:

100 Percent Organic: All ingredients, except salt and water, are certified organic and the label may include the USDA organic seal on the label’s primary display panel (PDP) as well as identify organic ingredients with an asterisk or wordmark on the label’s information panel (IP).

Organic: With the exception of salt and water, products that are at least 95% organic in their composition can be designated as organic. Labels may sport the USDA seal on the PDP and can identify specific ingredients with a wordmark or asterisk.

Made With Organic: A product may state “made with organic” on its label if it contains at least 70% organic ingredients. These labels may not have the USDA seal on the PDP but can say that the product includes organic ingredients in up to 3 categories. Specific organic ingredients can be indicated on the IP with wordmarks and asterisks.

Specific Organic Ingredients: Any product with less than 70% organic ingredients cannot advertise itself as an organic product on its PDP to any extent; including prohibited use of the USDA seal and the word “organic”. On the IP, only certified organic ingredients can be designated as such.

Failing to comply with these regulations could result in expensive, stressful, and time-consuming consequences for your business. Improper usage of the word “organic” in product packaging or a dishonest usage of the USDA seal could result in products being removed from retail shelves and the manufacturer or brand facing fines from the federal government.

Why Manufacture Organic Gummies?

Consumer demand for organic products has skyrocketed in recent years. In 2021, the organic food market was valued at over 200 billion dollars.

The term “organic” creates a sense of comfort for consumers; providing assurance that what they are purchasing is healthier for them and has been certified by an authoritative third party. Simply put: shoppers feel better about buying organic.

For manufacturers, organic manufacturing mainly concerns the choice of ingredients. Producing gummies made from vegan materials often creates a path of least resistance, as the product can be made from a completely plant-based formula.

When sourcing ingredients from a supplier, the gummy must be made entirely from ingredients that are certified organic if you wish to obtain USDA certification. As a reminder, you cannot label your product as “Organic” or “100%” organic unless it does meet the requirements to obtain the seal and has received approval from the proper authorities.

Another important note to consider is optional finishing ingredients you might include, such as an oil or sugar used to coat the gummy at the end of the manufacturing process. These materials must also be from an organic source.

Considerations for Organic Gummy Manufacturing

One challenge in manufacturing organic gummy vitamins is achieving the desired flavor and texture. Because they are made with real fruit juices, organic gummy vitamins can have a more intense flavor than their synthetic counterparts. This can be a difficult flavor to replicate consistently batch-to-batch. In addition, organic gummy vitamins often have a softer texture due to the lack of artificial stabilizers.

When manufacturing with organic ingredients, your equipment’s temperature settings are critical. Carefully review the melting points and freezing points for each ingredient and adjust your machinery accordingly so that you can create a higher-quality end product with greater consistency.

Start Making Organic Gummies with the Highest-Performing Manufacturing Equipment

As a division of CapPlus Technologies, Gummy Tech equips pharmaceutical manufacturers with the highest-performing and most scalable gummy vitamin and supplement production equipment on the market. We also provide ongoing training and support along with an extensive list of other services to help you generate the most value from your investment.

To learn more, view our equipment or contact us anytime to speak with someone from our team.