Want to create a hit soft candy? First, why young people are crazy about it.

"The fastest-selling product I've handled in the past six months has been soft candies. Consumers just love it," shared a distributor Mr.Lu, from Jilin Province with China Candy recently. Indeed, over the past six months, soft candies—various varieties of them—have been the most frequently discussed category among distributors, manufacturers, and brands in China Candy.

Through data analysis of soft candy-related articles published by China Candy and field research, we've become more convinced that soft candies are indeed popular. When consumers love them, manufacturers are willing to produce them, creating a virtuous cycle. However, this well-known hot category inevitably faces risks like "crowding out competitors," "homogenization," and even market disruption due to cutthroat competition.

Thus, how to stand out in this trending category and create a blockbuster soft candy becomes a crucial question.

Winning with Soft Candies

In 2024, Xufuji upgraded its Xiong Doctor Soft Candy with the industry's first 100% juice-packed burst candies, which earned a three-star honor from the ITI International Taste Awards – often dubbed the "Oscar of Food". This year, Xiong Doctor's 100% juice soft candy series (including burst candies and peeled candies) has been successfully listed among iSEE's Top 100 Innovative Brands.

As the name suggests,100% juice soft candy refers to a soft candy made mainly from 100% pure fruit juice with little or no other sweeteners, pigments and additives added.

This kind of soft candy not only retains the natural flavor of fruit juice, but also greatly improves the taste of the product. Meanwhile, the pure natural raw materials are rich in nutrition, which meets the demand of consumers for healthy snacks. It is a popular category pursued by everyone in the candy industry at present.

China Candy found that 100% juice soft candies are becoming more and more popular in the market recently. Many brands such as Wangwang, Xinqitian, Xu Fuji and Blue Blue Deer have launched new soft candies featuring "100% juice". Jin Duoduo Food, a domestic brand re-entering the Chinese market after overseas expansion, specializes in producing functional and entertaining soft candies under two major brands: Beiubao and Amais. Their hit products like Beiubao Probiotic Soft Candy, Amais 4D Building Blocks, and Amais 4D Burst-Style Soft Candy have successfully captured both the taste buds and hearts of Chinese consumers.

How do soft candies win young people's hearts?

In the U.S. market, Nerds——, the king of soft candies under Ferrero who earned $6.1 billion annually, staged an impressive comeback—from being sold by Nestlé to dominating Amazon's soft candy category. The core secret lies in continuous innovation. According to Innova Market Insights '"Top Ten Trends in China's Food & Beverage Industry," "Experience First" tops the list, with 56% of Chinese consumers expecting novel experiences from food. Soft candies inherently fulfill this demand. Nerds Soft Candy, despite declining sales, boldly innovated by wrapping colorful sour candies in QQ-style jelly cores, achieving a dual texture of crispy exterior and tender interior. 

Indeed, the flexible nature of soft candies allows greater creative flexibility. Gum candies have become consumer favorites, with their iconic burger, cola, and pizza-shaped designs making significant contributions. Being pioneers in functional candies, Beiubao has successively launched zinc-enriched gummies, fruit/vegetable dietary fiber gummies, and elderberry vitamin C gummies, gradually expanding its functional product portfolio – all thanks to the inherent characteristics of gummies. This advantage is also reflected in technical prowess: 100% pure fruit juice content technology is currently exclusive to gummies, while traditional products like lollipops and marshmallows rarely contain more than 50% juice. This raw material advantage allows gummies to retain pure fruit aromas while achieving unique textures like "bursting" and "flowing center" through innovative processing techniques, creating differentiated competitiveness. Whether it's interactive "peelable gummies" or visually stunning "fruit juice gummies", these have become regulars on young people's social media feeds. They're no longer just snacks – they've evolved into stress-relief tools, photo props, and sharing platforms embodying Generation Z's pursuit of small joys.

A new round of the battle for attention

The popularity of gummies makes success relatively easy, but demands higher standards: not only must they sell well and explode in popularity, but also maintain long-term success as enduring bestsellers. Reviewing recently launched gummy products, which ones stand a chance to become long-lasting hits?  Continuing from the previous discussion, Xintiandi, which achieved brand elevation through its 3D peelable gummies, hasn't rested on its laurels. It has taken the lead by partnering with "Zootopia 2" to launch 100% juice gummies. 

Among these products, both Vitamin C juice-flavored gummies and Vitamin C lollipop candies feature 100% pure fruit juice, available in raspberry and blood orange flavors. These products promise a fresh fruity sensation through chewing, emphasizing natural purity and organic safety. They also provide daily vitamin C supplementation while being completely sugar-free and fat-free, offering consumers additional health assurance. The Want Want QQ Fruit Knowledge Gummies, which achieved 25 million yuan in sales within one and a half months of launch, similarly contain 100% juice and emphasize "zero fat, light burden" for a sweet indulgence. Kouli continues its signature hamburger gummy concept by introducing new baked bag candies this year, delivering another delightful surprise. HAO Liyou's Fruit Heart series launches new flavors: Yangzhi Ganlu (sweet dewdrop) and Golden Kiwi (golden kiwi), complemented by seasonal blossom designs like white peach blossom and green grapefruit jasmine peel candies that align with spring's romantic ambiance. The Fruit Heart Series also introduces watermelon-flavored products perfectly matching summer, with 90% juice content ensuring both deliciousness and health benefits. As the gummy industry enters a new phase, brands must innovate to transcend product cycles and become enduring bestsellers in this attention-scarce era.

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