Plant-based offerings
Consumers are becoming more interested in plant-based foods, and this has opened new avenues for confectionery categories. In 2021 alone The Vegan Society registered an impressive 16,439 products with The Vegan Trademark, with over 82% of product registrations having come in the last five years. Veganuary, a month-long pledge to follow a Vegan diet and lifestyle in January, racked up over 600,000 sign-ups for 2022. When asked whether this trend is set to continue, both Graham and Brack agree and say: “The vegan trend will continue to gain ground. The selection of raw materials for gums and jellies is also becoming more and more elaborate. Snacking, albeit now by very modest means, must have healthy claims,” Brack says. Graham adds: “There is some interest in developing gummies and jellies that do not contain gelatin, particularly from the nutraceutical sector, as vegan products would extend the target market.”
b. Accurate dosing. For cost, quality and validation reasons Baker Perkins systems use a peristaltic pump for high precision dispensing of an exact amount of expensive ingredients.
c. Control - There is high accuracy throughout the mixing, cooking and starch-free depositing process. In the medicated and functional fields, exactly the right proportion of active ingredients is added to ensure that the therapeutic dose is correct. Every deposited piece is precisely the same weight, and the process is reproducible. The consistency achieved by starch-free depositing ensures products have a high-quality appearance, taste and mouthfeel.
Graham says: “The starch-free market has had considerable growth, focused on the functional/nutraceutical sectors. Depositing is at final solids, so although the products need time to set before being demoulded no drying is required. Setting time varies according to composition, from a few minutes for some pectin recipes up to a maximum of four hours for gelatin. This significantly reduces the time, energy and space required for post-depositing operations.” The hygienic nature of starch-free cooking and depositing systems makes it ideal for production to validation standards for healthcare products. A big problem for producers of healthcare jellies and gummies is that the starch mogul process brings with it the risk of cross-contamination of the active ingredients. Starch-free depositing, on the other hand, is a simpler process with hygienic characteristics – solid moulds, non-contact ejection system, fully automatic wash- through function and no recycling of starch. “Starch-free depositing will quickly become the industry standard process for jellies and gummies for mid-range outputs. Even at the highest outputs it is possible to envisage starch-free becoming a viable alternative to starch moguls: as the technology develops two or three starch-free lines could easily match mogul output while the absence of drying and starch handling will reduce capital and running costs, particularly energy and cleaning,” Graham concludes.
26 Kennedy’s Confection March 2022
“Functional confectionery appeals to people looking to boost their intake of essential nutrients”
Keith Graham Looking at the other side of the coin, although starch-free
is beneficial for OTC products and nutritional supplements, Brack at WDS believes it is not yet competitive enough for the entire market. He explains: “Jelly and gummy production in moulding starch is still very important due to flexible moulding technology and by changing the stamps, new product shapes can be implemented very quickly and cost-effectively.
KennedysConfection.com
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