Gummy delivery form: Sirio opens new plant to respond to Western demand

19 Oct 2018 --- Sirio Pharma, the global nutraceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), is opening a gummy production plant at its new development and manufacturing facility in Ma’anshan, 300km west of Shanghai, China. The news comes 11 years after Sirio opened its first gummy facility and the move responds to increasing market demand for the popular delivery form. As consumers become more discerning, companies will seek out specialist gummy development partners, Rui Yang, CSO of Sirio, predicts.

“In the US and Europe in particular, there is significant growth potential in gummy formulations – as they are seen as a more consumer-friendly dosage form. For many of the branded firms looking to enter this market early with customized formulations, we offer clear advantages. We can expedite development and even offer taste testing options during formulation,” Yang explains.

“Alternatively, we also offer ready-to-go formulations for companies that are looking to enter the market quickly – because we have one of the largest ranges of existing gummy formulations of any global business. But as consumers become more discerning, we anticipate that branded companies will increasingly need specialist gummy development partners and capabilities” Yang adds.

The gummy production plant features integrated R&D and will increase production capacity to 2.4 billion gummies per year. Sirio also expanded its ability to make innovative products such as liquid filled, center-filled, swirled and multi-colored gummies. In addition, Sirio has a wide range of standard gummy formulation options suitable for market launch in the US and EU and vegetarian options, including carrageen and pectin, as well as sugar-free and low-sugar options.

“The advantage of running an integrated site is that we can develop a much more tailored product for customers, while also expediting development timelines, thanks to a large team of in-house gummy specialists – more than 10 scientists and formulation engineers dedicated to gummies. We anticipate exponential growth for the gummy lines in 2019. And obviously, with the new capacity we have, we can supply even for the largest of nutraceutical brands,” Yang says.

“I have toured scores of dietary supplement factories around the world, but few equal Sirio's new gummy facilities in terms of technology, state-of-the-art design and engineering, robotics and R&D capabilities. This facility boasts world-class R&D and manufacturing and will help customers innovate new formulations for the fast-growing gummy market,” says Loren Israelsen, President at United Natural Products Alliance.

The company is predicting its market share for contract services in the United States, and Europe will increase rapidly as a result.