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As product innovations continue and new generations of consumers hit the market, the gummy candy market is evolving — and booming. According to Grand View Research, in 2023, the gummy market was valued at a staggering USD 23.93 billion, with the U.S. market expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.8% from 2024 to 2030. This rapid growth is largely driven by adults spanning generations, with consumers ranging from nostalgic Gen Xers to health-focused Boomers and bold, trendsetting Gen Zers.
Reaching this growing audience takes showstopping packaging, from visual appeal to small touches that make all the difference. Whether your brand targets children with playful, fun products or appeals to adults with health-conscious options, your packaging needs to tell a story, connect with consumers and offer a positive experience.
If you’re wondering how to package gummies in a way that keeps consumers coming back to your brand, here are some key insights and strategies to consider.
A New Era of Gummy Products and Consumers
While gummy candies used to be geared exclusively toward children, the gummies market has exploded in recent years, now encompassing products like cognitive enhancers, functional supplements, vitamins and candy geared toward adults. These products cater to everyone from Boomers looking for convenient health supplements to Gen Zers experimenting with products for better sleep or focus.
Data from Grand View Research illustrates the market’s growth by audience, revealing that while kids still make up for a large share of consumers, adults are key drivers of this growth.
That’s in part due to demand for emerging and innovative products, from retro-inspired candy to experimental apetropics. Gummy companies are increasingly introducing throwback products, functional gummies and more appealing versions of the vitamins and supplements many consumers have grown up with. Each generation of gummy consumers has different priorities and expectations for gummy products, creating both opportunities and challenges for gummy brands.
Gummy Product Preferences by Generation
With new flavors, textures and product categories continuously emerging — along with social media trends like #CandyTok — gummy brands have more opportunities than ever to reach consumers in any generation. Here’s a look at some of the motivations behind each generation’s gummy purchases:
- Boomers: Boomers are also likely to gravitate toward functional gummies, such as vitamins or nutraceuticals, emphasizing health benefits over candy enjoyment. While many boomers still prefer traditional formats for vitamins and supplements, some 18.9% of them choose gummy supplements over others, which is still a significant and growing share.
- Gen X: Gen X cares about nostalgia and increasingly, health. For Gen Xers, the classic gummy candies can take them back to childhood and simpler times, motivating them to splurge on throwback products. Research also shows that Gen X is also gravitating toward gummy vitamins and supplements that promote healthy aging, such as immunity boosters and supplements for bone, heart and gut health.
- Millennials and Gen Z: Millennials and Gen Z are some of the key drivers of gummy market growth, particularly in the candy aisle. According to an interview with food scientist Tessa Porter, who helped design NERDS Gummy Clusters, millennials and Gen Z are now in buying roles for their families, and gravitate toward the gummies they grew up with while also seeking out new innovations to those products. For Gen Z, gummies are also about boldness and experiences. This generation is drawn to sour flavors, eye-catching and social media-worthy packaging and functional benefits like mushroom-infused gummies.
While each generation has its unique motivations, all of them prioritize flavor, freshness and unique textures — in other words, the experience. Packaging is critical to delivering that experience, from visual design to usability.
NERDS Gummy Clusters appeal to millennials and Gen Zers who grew up eating NERDS but want to try variations of the products they love or share them with their kids.
Navigating Gummy Packaging Challenges
With such diversity in the market, your packaging must serve several purposes, including function, visual appeal and storytelling. Despite the exciting opportunities the gummy market presents, it comes with unique challenges — primarily, keeping gummies fresh and intact. For example, sugar-coated or soft gummies can stick together or lose their texture if not properly packaged. Exposure to heat, light and moisture can also degrade gummies, affecting both their flavor and appearance. The right packaging can help address these challenges while enhancing the overall consumer experience.
To overcome these challenges, it’s important to partner with a packaging supplier that understands the technical complexities of gummy packaging. The right packaging supplier can help you identify the packaging materials, films and features for your product, and will offer a testing process to ensure your packaging performs against heat and moisture.
Making Your Gummy Packaging Count With Memorable Features
The best packaging for gummies protects your product while conveying its features and benefits. That means it’s crucial to go beyond functionality and consider the holistic consumer experience.
The cornerstone of that experience is storytelling. Packaging that tells a compelling story, whether about the product’s function, features, ingredients or even the brand’s mission, creates a deeper connection with the consumer, regardless of generation. Effective storytelling includes messaging, visual design, tactile experiences and, increasingly, a digital presence. It also includes knowing your audience.
Since Gen Z gravitates toward sour, “loud” flavors, for example, you’ll want to create packaging that’s visually striking and shareable on social media. Interactive elements like QR codes or augmented reality features add another layer of engagement, and exciting, memorable designs make it more likely they’ll share images with their audience, expanding your reach. Bold graphics, distinct fonts and matte or gloss finishes can all contribute to memorable gummy packaging for Gen Z.
Millennials, on the other hand, are likely to appreciate clean, minimal designs that highlight health benefits, functional ingredients and sourcing information. Tactile features such as a soft matte finish can help reinforce your product’s story, conveying premium or pleasant qualities. Millennials and Gen Z alike are also likely to appreciate sustainability measures, such as moving to flexible pouches or sustainable labels.
Finally, usability features, such as easy-to-open and reclosable pouches, appeal to consumers of all generations. These features help consumers access your product and enjoy it as you intended over longer periods of time, creating a positive experience throughout the product life cycle.
Win Over More Consumers With Custom Gummy Packaging from Belmark
If you’re ready for packaging that resonates with and grows your audience, talk to us. At Belmark, we understand what it takes to deliver an exceptional consumer experience with gummy packaging. With our expertise in flexible packaging, pressure sensitive labels and sustainable solutions, we help gummy brands create custom gummy packaging that not only stands out on the shelf (or screen) but also wins over your target audience. And, we deliver it in the quantity — and on the timeline — that you need to get to market.
