Unlike traditional tablets and capsules, chewable vitamin gummies, which are similar in structure to gummies, are becoming increasingly popular in the global market. They may not have been very popular a decade ago, but in the current supplement market, gummies are one of the products that consumers will choose to buy. Because in addition to their nutritional value, these vitamin gummies also come in a variety of flavors, colors, and shapes, further attracting consumers of all ages. Let Innova Nutra show you how vitamin gummy is manufactured.
In fact, gummies were first used in supplement products to cater to children’s preferences. Basic vitamins and minerals were made into gummies to promote children’s growth and development. After the development and renovation of technology and the market, some manufacturers also have the ability to produce more advanced compound gummies that can be taken by specific groups, such as diabetic consumers, vegetarians, or according to the specific nutrients to create gummy vitamins for women or men.
What Are the Gummies Manufacturing Processes?
The production of supplement gummies is a major challenge. Gummy manufacturing has strict temperature requirements, including the sensitivity of some vitamins, trace elements, thickeners and other raw materials to temperature. For example, when the temperature is below 10℃, the loss of vitamin nutrition is small. At 15~25℃, some less stable vitamins will be damaged. When the temperature is above 30℃, most vitamins will be destroyed. Therefore, how to ensure the stability of vitamins during the preparation of soft candies is a difficult point in the production process of vitamin soft candies.
STEP 1 – Selecting and Preparing Ingredients
The first step in producing the best chewable multivitamin gummy is to select raw materials from responsibly sourced sources. Make sure that the raw material suppliers are screened multiple times, free of contaminants, heavy metals, and microbial pathogens, and that they meet various regulatory standards.
Considering factors such as vitamins’ pH sensitivity, thermal stability, and sensitivity to degradation over time, it is critical to select ingredients that are stable and compatible with gummies formulations.
Thirdly, do the raw materials you choose contain allergenic elements? If so, they need to be clearly marked.
In addition, we need to determine whether the various ingredients can be well integrated with the gummies base (i.e., gelatin) and various additives, so that a variety of flavors of gummies can be developed while ensuring nutrition.
STEP 2 – Mixing Raw Materials
The most basic point of mixing raw materials is to control the ratio and reasonably control the nutritional content of vitamin gummies.
Temperature has always been an important data that cannot be ignored in the entire production process, including in the mixing process. Temperature within a reasonable range can prevent sensitive ingredients from degrading.
Sampling and testing are required during the mixing process to adjust the mixing degree of raw materials in time.
STEP 3 – Heating Mixed Ingredients
The role of heating is to dissolve and evenly mix the ingredients, especially to activate the gelatin or pectin matrix, flavorings, pigments and active ingredients, which paves the way for the jelly taste.
During the heating process, the temperature must be controlled at all times. Specific ingredients have specific temperature requirements. Temperatures below or above these temperatures will cause the soft candy processing to fail. At the same time, remember not to overexpose when testing the temperature.
At present, some technologies have achieved mixing and heating as a step, simplifying the production steps and improving efficiency.
STEP 4 –Molding Heated Mixture
Molding determines what your vitamin gummies will look like. In this step, we need to use gummies molds. You can buy or customize silicone or starch trays in the shape you want in advance.
The specific operation is to pour the mixed and heated raw materials into the tray, accurately control the gummies liquid filled in each cavity, and wait for the next step.
STEP 5 – Colding in Gummy Molds
It is still necessary to accurately control the temperature during cooling and stay in the cooling chamber for a predetermined time to allow the gummy mixture to completely solidify.
For professional gummies that need to be put on the market, we need to ensure that the shape of the gummy meets the standard and whether it meets the weight specifications.
Finally, demolding is carried out, and this process requires extreme caution to avoid damaging the appearance of the gummies.
STEP 6 – Dusting and Coating
The purpose of dusting is to prevent the gummies from sticking together or to the packaging. The second purpose is to increase the flavor of the gummies. The specific process is to mix the demoulded gummies with the powder in a drum until the surface of the gummies is evenly coated with a layer of powder.
The coating process is similar to dusting, but uses a spray device inside a drum to coat the gummies with liquid or semi-liquid ingredients. In addition to adding flavor to the gummies, it can also be coated with ingredients containing nutrients and can also make the gummies look shiny. And for vegan gummies, the coating can be made from plant extracts. The coating process requires an additional step, which is drying.
STEP 7 – Packaging Vitamin Gummies
After going through the above steps, the production mission of vitamin gummies comes to the final step: packaging.
The form of packaging depends on your market positioning. The containers available are generally blisters, bottles, jars and pouches. For different packaging, you need to use different equipment, such as equipment specifically for blister packaging, equipment for accurate counting of tablets, and equipment for bagging. Then you need to display your brand information on the packaging, including the product name, nutrient table, logo, and the selling points you want to display, etc.
Lastly, you still need to check whether your products meet health and safety standards, environmental standards, etc., and be fully prepared to enter the market.
What Equipment Do You Need to Make Multivitamin Gummies?
The process of producing vitamin gummies may not seem that complicated, but there are many production equipment involved. Here we will introduce them one by one.
Mixing Machine
Raw materials such as gelatin, sweeteners, spices, pigments, vitamins and minerals are pre-proportioning and loaded into the mixer tank for mixing. If necessary, a mixer with high shear function can be selected to help decompose particles and make the mixing more uniform.
Cooking Kettles
Cooking kettles are used to heat the ingredient mixture to dissolve key ingredients and activate gelling agents such as gelatin or pectin. Cooking kettles are equipped with temperature control: The kettle are equipped with heating elements and temperature controllers to control and monitor the precise temperature required.
Depositing Machine
The mixed raw liquid materials are poured into the mold, and the pouring machine can control the flow rate and volume of the liquid. Because of its automated control, it can better ensure the accuracy of pouring and reduce the amount of manual labor.
Cooling Tunnel
After the pouring step is completed, the mold is randomly sent to a cooling tunnel or cooling room to cool the gummies and form a gelatinous texture.
Dusting and Coating Machine
Sugar coating machine is the most used equipment for gummies coating, and it is actually multifunctional. In addition to coating the soft candy with a thin layer of sugar or syrup, it can also be a dusting machine applying raw materials such as starch to ultimately create different textures.
Packaging Machine
The packaging step actually involves the most machinery because, in addition to packaging the exposed soft candies, it also requires labeling and coding the packages.
– Blister Packaging Machine
When you want to pack single or multiple gummies into a blister, you can use a blister packaging machine to pack your gummies, which are basically made of pvc-alu material that meets food grade standards.
– Gummy Counting Machine
It’s necessary to buy a counting machine for packing gummies into bottles or jars, it automatics the counting step with precise and advanced systems, basically engineered with photoelectric detection. Our gummy counting machine named SED PAHRMA will also realize the function of “no bottle no filling”, which totally improve the packing efficiency.
– Pouch Packing Machine
If you like to pack gummies into pouches like HARIBO, then you can choose a pouch or sachet packing machine, packed based on weight, or equipped with a counting device.
– Labeling Machine
The labeling machine is mostly used for the packages which require sticker labels, may suitable for small business to label their logo brand.
– Cartoning Machine
Cartoning machine is optional, If you want your packaging to be as complete and exquisite as possible, such as putting bottles or bags into cartons with your brand information, it will be more attractive for consumers to buy your products.
– Inkjet Printer
The inkjet printer can be used to mark your production date or item code. Some manufacturers with low production volume may need it. Generally, a coding facility can be added to the labeling machine to save labor cost.
Where to Find a Trusted Gummy Manufacturer?
At Innova Nutra, we are a leading turnkey gummy vitamin manufacturer committed to quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction. We are certified by the supplement industry, including Non-GMO, GMP, FDA, UL, HALAL, and more. We ensure that each product meets the highest standards for safety and effectiveness.
Our commitment to excellence extends to offering a wide range of customization options, from formulation development to private label solutions, tailored to your specific needs.
Our manufacturing facility, located in Ontario, features cutting-edge equipment designed and built in-house, ensuring precision and reliability with every batch. Over the years, we have established successful partnerships with numerous nutritional companies, leveraging our expertise to deliver exceptional products that resonate with consumers around the world. Choose Innova Nutra for a seamless manufacturing experience that drives your brand to success in a competitive marketplace.
Ready to take the next step? Contact us today to discuss how we can build a solid foundation for your gummy vitamin brand.