Gummy candies continued to dominate the confectionery category with brands standing out through flavor combinations, fun shapes and an interactive eating experience as showcased at the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Indianapolis, Ind. last week.
The US gummy market’s value was worth $23 billion in 2024 and expected to reach more than 10.4% CAGR from 2025 – 2034, according to Global Market Insights.
According to brands and analysts during the show, gummy growth is largely driven by enticing flavor combinations, extreme sensations (think: super sour), texture experimentation and interactive formats.
Frankford’s peelable gummy shapes emphasize flavor and play
Philadelphia-based Frankford Candy’s social media famous line of peelable gummies, Peelerz, expanded beyond its popular peelable fruit showcased last year and into other peelable shapes at this year’s show.
Frankford’s Peelables are cube-shaped gummies that can be peeled to reveal an gummy animal and each has two different flavors, such as pineapple and grape. Peelables features five gummy animals, including a bear, t-rex, turtle, octopus and gorilla. Frankford expects for Peelables to launch in retail this fall, according to the company.
Nassau Candy rolls out its candy charcuterie trays, new gummy flavors and shapes
Nassau Candy’s Clever Candy line targets Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers with its gummies, sours and dextrose portfolio, explained Dana Rodio, director of marketing and brand strategy at Nassau Candy.
The company introduced its new imported bulk gummy items in a variety of shapes, like pacifiers, lemons, avocados, sour cubes and orange creamsicle pops.
Taking nods from the viral charcuterie board trends from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nassau Candy introduced its pre-assembled candy charcuterie boards, which will be available in the fall.
Its Candy Shoppe Classics features a mix of Nassau’s non-chocolate candies, like gummy bears, gummy sharks, fruit sours, sour gummies, gumballs and dextrose candies, with instructions on the back of the package to “educate our customers on how to set it up,” Rodio said.
The Sour Spot board includes Clever Candy’s popular sour favorites, such as sour sharks, sour worms, sour spiders, tart twin cherries, sour cherry cola bottles and sour peachy hearts.
Planning ahead for tariff uncertainty
Nassau’s gummy and dextrose business relies on imports since the company’s facilities do not support their production (as opposed to its chocolate manufacturing which is made in the US).
While the uncertainty of tariffs continues to plague CPG brands, Nassau Candy is focused on staying ahead of any changes, including onboarding a legal team and initiating transparent communication with customers.
“We got good news at the start of the show with the tariffs going down, but again, it is all flat, it is all fluid. We are just trying to make sure we stay on top of it, and that we are helping ourselves stay educated, our vendors stay educated and onboarding a legal team to make sure that our customers are safe,” she added.
