With the upgrading of consumption, traditional foods are becoming more and more healthy, and candy has begun to upgrade in the direction of health. At present, the entire confectionery industry is trying to find new breakthroughs in ideas, such as function, vegetarian nutrition, and sugar reduction, which has also become a key part of the innovation trend of the confectionery industry.

Functional sugars

In the candy category, functionality is a very potential development direction, although the current market share of functional candy in the market is small, but its health effect is still a non-negligible interest growth point.
According to the data of the China Business Industry Research Institute, the sales market of functional candy has grown significantly in the domestic market, and the functional sugar market is expected to exceed 8.6 billion yuan in 2022. According to NBJ data, it took only four years (2014-2018) for the global sales of functional confectionery to double.
Among functional candies, gummies are particularly popular. Tmall's consumption data shows that in 2020, functional gummies will become the fast-growing consumer dosage form of health care products among young groups such as the post-90s generation and Generation Z. At present, there are vitamins and minerals on the market, DHA gummies, yeast zinc gummies, probiotic gummies, melatonin gummies, collagen gummies and other products on the market.
The advent of functional candy is an extension of traditional candy brands to high-end product categories, and it is a high-level and multi-level demand for candy products from consumers.

Sugar-free candies

With the increasing demand for health, the trend of "low sugar and no sugar" has hit, so consumers have also put forward demands for confectionery products - not only nutritious and healthy, but also less sugar.
In the context of sugar reduction becoming a global trend, the daily demand for traditional confectionery is gradually decreasing. According to the "2019-2023 Candy Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestion Report", in 2017, China's candy output was 3.31 million tons, a decrease of 6.0% from 3.52 million tons in 2016; In 2018, China's candy output fell to 2.88 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 13.0%, and the decline further increased.
To this end, many companies have launched sugar-free lollipops, such as Xu Fu Chi Dr. Xiong's sugar-free lollipops, three squirrel fawns blue sugar-free lollipops, sugar cube sugar-free lollipops, etc. The development of sugar-free confectionery is worth looking forward to.

Vegan sweets

The plant-based proposition is another important consumer trend in the confectionery market. The data shows that between 2016 and 2020, the compound annual growth rate of confectionery products claiming vegetarian was 17%, while the CAGR of confectionery products claiming plant more than doubled in the last year.
Confectionery manufacturers are removing ingredients such as dairy, gelatin, and carmine to meet the growing demand for plant-based products, which are seen not only as healthier, but also as more ethical and sustainable. For example, the low-sugar vegan gummies launched by Canadian candy brand Yumy Bear use plant-based ingredients instead of gelatin.

In recent years, with the diversification of consumers' health demands, a number of candy manufacturers have regarded the research and development of new products that meet consumer needs as a top priority, and a steady stream of innovative products have injected new vitality into the candy market. Riding the "health" train, the confectionery industry is moving forward slowly.