Sirio introduces chewable medicine for colds, oral care and UTIs with gummy innovation

27 Sep 2023 --- Sirio Pharma, the nutraceuticals contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), is presenting a new range of herbal gummies designed to help over-the-counter (OTC) customers tap into the consumer interest in cough and cold, oral care and urinary tract infections (UTI) health products.

“We are launching three new ready-to-market gummy concepts addressing some of the top-rated consumer health concerns seen from various trend reports and analysis,” Sara Lesina, general manager for Europe at Sirio, tells Nutrition Insight.

“We identified cough and cold gummies as something that could be really unique. Our second gummy addresses UTI prevention with a high dose of herbal extracts. The Oral Care gummy is a first-to-market globally, offering a convenient and enjoyable alternative to conventional oral care supplements,” she tells us.

The three new bioactive products, now ready to launch on the market, are vegan (pectin-based) and contain low or no sugar.

Original taste
According to Lesina, what makes the recently unveiled gummies different from competitive products on the market is the flavor and texture, which she says provide a more pleasant experience for the consumer.

Discussing the concept of a cough and cold gummy, Lesina tells us that the “burst in the mouth” sensation created by its honey filling is part of the appeal. 

The oral care Sirio gummies aim to offer an alternative to conventional oral hygiene methods by using herbal extracts like cranberry and elderberry to prevent bacteria-induced inflammation. 

“This concept is unique as it appeals to younger consumers and will encourage customers to tap into newer opportunities.”

Addressing the selling point of the new Sirio UTI prevention gummy, Narain tells us that it has a high payload of herbal extracts (120 mg cranberry and 60 mg hibiscus extract) and is available in sugar-free and vegan format. The recommended dosage is one gummy per day.

Cough and cold, oral care and UTI health products are trending among consumers. 

Helping partners grow
The three new consumer health items are reportedly designed with pharma and OTC partners in mind. 

Gummies with health properties are indicated as a product with the capacity to help brands expand their customer base and grow traditional categories due to their experiential and organoleptic properties. 

Recent Innova Market Insights data reveals that gummy product launches increased 54% from October 2017 to September 2022. Nutrition Insight also noticed this trend at ISM Cologne 2023, which saw traditional confectionery companies enter the functional gummy market as one of the fastest-growing nutraceutical segments.

According Lesina, the consistency of quality is vital for brands considering expanding into new formats. 

“This means working with a CDMO with decades of experience, quality certificates, raw materials traceability standards and crucially solid bioavailability studies is the way to go. The skill and experience of the CDMO is now often the difference between ‘just launching’ and having a market-leading product.”

“We will be attending CPHI Barcelona 2023 to help our OTC customers – or any consumer health brand for that matter – launch complementary health gummies rapidly across Europe. Our ready-to-market gummies will enable them to address trending over-the-counter health areas in the most consumer-friendly dosage form. We all know gummies are the top growth dosage for nutraceuticals,” says Lesina.

The new Sirio vegan, sugar-free health gummies and vegetarian softgels targeting pharma will be showcased at stand 1A30 at CPHI Barcelona 2023. 

By Milana Nikolova