In October of this year, Alpenliebe officially launched the Alpenliebe Plus+ Multivitamin Gummies on its Tmall flagship store. This product incorporates ingredients such as vitamin B1, B2, B6, and C, offering two flavors—succulent grape and sunny strawberry—to provide children with a delightful taste experience while supplementing their nutrition. Within just one month of their launch, sales surpassed 30,000 bags, propelling the product to the second spot on Tmall's candy and snacks best-selling list. This new product launch reflects Alpenliebe’ insights into the dynamics of the functional gummy market. In the current landscape of the confectionery industry, candy categories face challenges of product aging and homogenization, while functional gummies emerge as a dynamic force, driving innovation and growth.
The development of functional gummies is attributed to the escalating trend of health and nutritional foods. In recent years, heightened consumer health awareness has led to a surge in demand for health and nutritional products. Among these, gummy nutritional supplements, with their good taste, convenience and appealing packaging become a highly favored category. According to QYResearch, the global functional gummy market size was USD 1.05 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 2.2 billion by 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3%. In China, the functional gummy market reached a size of USD 328 million in 2022, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.5% to USD 899 million by 2029, accounting for roughly 40.8% of the global market share.
Presently, the primary consumers of functional gummies are the post-90s and post-95s demographics. Innova Market Insights highlighted that consumers aged 18 to 25 prefer gummies as a form of supplementation, and those aged 26 to 35 opt for gummies, functional foods, and beverages. Children also represent a crucial consumer segment for functional gummies, especially vitamin gummies. Currently, functional gummies exhibit five major consumption trends:
Nutritional Complexes: Single vitamins like vitamin B or vitamin D with calcium have developed steadily. Products catering to specific nutritional needs, such as gut health, eyesight health, and oral beauty, are expected to gain popularity.
Diversification of Colloidal Ingredients: Different ingredients in gummies can impact the overall taste and texture, especially the chewiness. To meet diverse consumer demands, the diversification of colloidal ingredients in gummies is also a significant trend.
Innovative Flavors: Currently, gummy dietary supplements generally feature flavors like citrus, strawberry, and blueberry. This is because these fruit flavors, with their slightly sour taste, can effectively mask the possible peculiar tastes of functional ingredients. Although familiar natural fruit flavors are well accepted by consumers, there remains untapped potential for the development of more innovative flavor profiles.
Low Sugar: While the flavor remains a pivotal success factor, the potential health concerns related to high sugar content have prompted an essential innovation trend—reducing sugar content while preserving flavor.
Convenient Small Packaging: Although bottles remain the prevalent packaging type for health supplements, a noticeable trend towards more portable small bags is emerging within the functional gummy market. This shift aligns with the evolving landscape of diverse nutritional supplement scenarios.
Fueled by the significant market potential, industry giants have expanded their presence in the functional gummies market. Swisse, for instance, has introduced a series of functional gummies, including probiotic gummies, lutein ester gummies, and collagen gummies, under its lifestyle health brand Swisse Me. Similarly, By-health has launched lutein ester gummies and collagen gummies under its brand Yep. Pharmaceutical enterprises such as Yunnanbaiyao, Tongrentang, Baiyunshan, and China Resources Sanjiu have also entered the gummy market with a variety of functional offerings.
To stand out in the competitive functional gummies market, emerging brands must thoroughly understand the essential preferences of their target audience, launch tailored products, refine both taste and nutritional formulas, and enhance the packaging designs as well to win consumers.
Disclaimer: All images used in the article are from the Internet.
