It’s a surprisingly complex question when you consider all the variables that go into a gummy — and even more so in cannabis with all the challenges of making an infused product.
However, Candy Pros chief operating officer Ashley Reinsmith says there is a right answer: “The immediate answer is texture and flavor.”
Eye-catching packaging or benefits like healthier ingredients might help lure in new customers, but “from our extensive knowledge in the candy industry, there is a lot of data supporting that texture and flavor will beat out everything,” she says. “If the texture and flavor don’t satisfy, you won’t have a repeat customer. It will outperform every other quality.”
According to Candy Pros CEO Susan Hallak, it’s also worth noting that the gelatin texture is still preferred over any other texture for gummy-like products, though more and more consumers are moving away from gelatin and animal byproducts. This has created a huge opportunity for vegan products that successfully recreate the classic gummy texture.
Tim George, chief operating officer of Assurance Laboratories, says his company put a lot of energy into getting the right “bite.” Too many companies, he says, produce gummies that are too soft.
“We have a really thick bite, like it’s got some meat to it,” he says of the Fligh gummies. “We started with a gelatin-based gummy because we thought had a better bite. But we wanted to get more over to that vegan space, because it’s more appealing to a broader market. But my issue with some of the pectins that were out there is some of them are prepackaged — the syrup just comes out of a bag. All of our gummies are scratch made, we pour all the ingredients in individually and we’ve been able to formulate a good recipe and tried to do some fun stuff with flavors, like Sangria and Moscow Mule.”
With so many companies flooding into the gummy space, Wana Brands chief marketing officer Joe Hodas says one of the biggest mistakes he sees from companies is that they think it’s easy to make a good gummy.
“It’s not,” he says plainly. “It’s not easy to make it taste good or to be infused properly to have the effects, from a formulation perspective.”
Bracing against the flood of new entrants “requires some discipline on the part of existing players to resist the race to the bottom,” Hodas says. “That’s really been our focus — continuing to grow the pie — versus saying, ‘Let’s protect what we’ve got by matching them dollar for dollar.’ When a new kid on the block comes in and says, ‘We’re going to sell a $3 gummy,’ well, the consumer is going to have a $3 gummy experience.”