At SupplySide Global 2025, the phrase “pill fatigue” echoed through every conversation as manufacturers confronted a fundamental shift in consumer preferences that has reshaped the entire supplement industry. The transformation is stark: 65% of the supplement market now consists of non-pill formats, with 47% of frequent supplement users admitting they started with gummies before eventually adding traditional pills to their regimen. This seismic shift has forced companies like superior supplement manufacturing to completely reimagine their production capabilities, investing into formats that didn’t exist commercially just a decade ago.
The numbers tell a compelling story of rapid market evolution. Gummy supplements alone now account for 24.4% of total supplement sales, reaching $14.3 billion in 2024 despite experiencing a temporary 3.5% decline in 2023 after years of double-digit growth. Market projections from MarketsandMarkets indicate the global gummy supplements market will grow from $24.39 billion in 2025 to $47.79 billion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of 14.4%. This explosive growth has pushed contract manufacturers into uncharted territory, requiring mastery of confectionery science, pharmaceutical precision, and food technology simultaneously.
The technical challenges facing manufacturers are far more complex than consumers realize. Water activity control, the critical factor determining microbial stability and texture, must be maintained between 0.45 and 0.65 for optimal shelf life. Too high, and products become susceptible to mold growth; too low, and gummies turn rock hard. Traditional tablet supplement manufacturer facilities can control moisture through simple desiccants, but gummy production requires sophisticated climate-controlled environments maintaining relative humidity at precisely 35% throughout the entire production and packaging process.
Temperature management presents another formidable challenge. Gummy manufacturing requires cooking temperatures between 180°F and 200°F to properly dissolve sugars and activate gelling agents. However, these temperatures destroy most heat-sensitive vitamins and probiotics. Manufacturers have developed a narrow post-cook addition window, typically lasting less than 60 seconds, when the slurry has cooled to approximately 140°F but remains fluid enough for ingredient incorporation. Missing this window means either degraded actives or incomplete mixing, resulting in inconsistent dosing that can fail USP standards requiring no more than 7.5% weight variation between units.
The ingredient compatibility matrix has become increasingly complex as brands demand multi-functional formulations. Minerals like magnesium and calcium actively disrupt pectin gelling behavior, causing structural failures that manifest as collapsed or weeping gummies. Iron creates clumping issues during scale-up production, often ruining entire batches and contaminating expensive starch mogul equipment. B vitamins impart bitter metallic tastes that require flavor loads exceeding 3% of total formula weight, which in turn affects pH balance and can trigger crystallization. According to research published in the Journal of Food Science, these interactions become exponentially more complex when combining three or more active ingredients, with failure rates reaching 40% during initial formulation attempts.
“The shift from traditional tablets to these innovative delivery formats represents the most significant manufacturing evolution we’ve seen in 30 years,” explains Phil Hixon, VP of Sales at Superior Supplement Manufacturing. “Our clients aren’t just asking for gummies anymore; they want liquid-filled cores with probiotics, dissolvable strips with nootropics, and effervescent powders with collagen peptides. Each format requires completely different equipment, expertise, and quality control protocols. We’ve essentially had to build three different factories under one roof to meet this demand.”
Stability challenges extend far beyond simple shelf life considerations. Gummies stored under accelerated conditions of 77°F and 70% relative humidity show moisture content increases of up to 15% within eight weeks, leading to texture degradation and potential microbial growth. Oxidative degradation affects not just vitamins but also natural colors and flavors, with anthocyanin-based colorants showing 38% degradation after simulated digestion. Manufacturers have responded by implementing nitrogen flush packaging systems and developing proprietary coating technologies using carnauba wax and medium-chain triglycerides to create moisture barriers without affecting palatability.
The emergence of alternative formats beyond gummies has created entirely new manufacturing paradigms. Dissolvable strips, which gained significant traction at SupplySide Global 2025, require specialized equipment capable of creating films less than 100 microns thick while maintaining uniform active distribution. These strips must dissolve completely in under 30 seconds while protecting ingredients from saliva enzymes during the dissolution process. Manufacturers report initial capital investments exceeding $2 million for strip production lines, with ongoing technical challenges including preventing active ingredient migration during the drying process and achieving consistent thickness across 10,000 square foot production runs.
ConCordix’s Smart Chew technology exemplifies the innovative approaches manufacturers are developing to overcome dosing limitations. Through a mechanical shearing process that creates billions of microdroplets in a stable emulsion, these chews can deliver as much omega-3 fatty acids as 15 traditional gummies in a single serving. Clinical studies demonstrate 43.3% higher bioavailability compared to softgels, achieved through particle size reduction to under 200 nanometers. This technology requires specialized homogenization equipment operating at pressures exceeding 20,000 PSI, followed by immediate encapsulation under nitrogen to prevent oxidation.
Microencapsulation has emerged as a critical enabling technology for functional gummy production. By coating active ingredients in protective matrices of maltodextrin, gum arabic, or modified starches, manufacturers can protect heat-sensitive compounds during the cooking process while also masking unpleasant tastes. Advanced techniques including spray drying, fluid bed coating, and coacervation allow for controlled release profiles, with some formulations achieving sustained release over six hours. However, microencapsulation adds significant cost, typically increasing raw material expenses by 40% to 60% while requiring additional quality control testing to verify encapsulation efficiency and particle size distribution.
The pectin versus gelatin debate has intensified as consumer demand for plant-based options grows. Pectin-based formulations now represent 40% of new gummy launches, but they present unique manufacturing challenges. Pectin requires precise pH control between 3.2 and 3.6 for proper gelling, a range incompatible with many active ingredients. The setting process occurs rapidly, often within 90 seconds of reaching target pH, leaving minimal time for depositing into molds. Manufacturers have invested in automated pH adjustment systems and high-speed depositors capable of filling 50,000 molds per hour to accommodate these constraints.
Regulatory compliance adds another layer of complexity to alternative format manufacturing. The FDA’s ongoing development of USP standards for chewable gels has introduced new testing requirements including water activity measurement, titratable acidity analysis, and specialized extraction procedures for active ingredient quantification. The lack of established standards for newer formats like dissolvable strips and functional beverages creates uncertainty, with manufacturers developing internal specifications based on pharmaceutical film standards and beverage industry protocols.
Looking forward, the industry stands at an inflection point. SPINS data indicates that while gummies may have reached a growth ceiling, emerging formats including liquid-filled capsules, oral pouches, and effervescent strips are experiencing triple-digit growth rates. Manufacturers are investing in flexible production platforms capable of switching between multiple formats on the same line, reducing capital requirements while maintaining the specialized expertise each format demands. The successful contract manufacturers of the next decade will be those who master not just the technical aspects of production but also the delicate balance between innovation, stability, and scalability that these new formats require.
The supplement industry’s format revolution reflects broader changes in consumer behavior and expectations. As younger consumers increasingly view supplements as part of their daily wellness routine rather than medicine to be endured, manufacturers must continue evolving their capabilities to deliver products that are not just effective but enjoyable. The 65% non-pill market share represents not an endpoint but a waypoint in the ongoing transformation of how consumers interact with nutritional supplements.
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