INNOVATIVE INGREDIENTS
The gaming sector A similar transition is taking place in gaming- focused confectionery, where products blur the distinction between sweets and nootropic supplementation. Sneak Energy Gummies are emblematic of this shift. Sneak originally built its reputation through powdered gaming energy formulas, but its gummies move the brand closer to mainstream confectionery while preserving the language of functional enhancement. Official descriptions repeatedly stress the combination of “100mg caffeine per serving”, “9 vitamins and minerals”, “zero sugar” and “natural flavours and colours”. Yet perhaps the most revealing phrase is its description of the product as a “pocket-sized energy boost”. The company is not selling sweets in the traditional sense; it is selling portable stimulation designed to integrate seamlessly into work, gaming and commuting routines. The insistence on sugar-free formulations
across these products is especially significant. Historically, confectionery relied heavily on sugar not only for flavour but for identity itself. Now, brands foreground the absence of sugar almost as aggressively as they promote flavour. Sneak repeatedly highlights its gummies as “zero sugar” and “low calorie”, even while marketing them through intensely confectionery language like “juicy”, “fruity” and “big flavour”. The contradiction reveals how profoundly consumer expectations around sweets have shifted. Modern confectionery
is increasingly expected to deliver sensory pleasure while simultaneously conforming to wellness culture’s demands for control, optimisation and nutritional restraint.
Mushroom dosing in confectionery Perhaps the most ambitious area of innovation, however, lies in the incorporation of adaptogens and functional mushrooms into confectionery formats. Ingredients such as lion’s mane, cordyceps, reishi and ashwagandha — once largely confined to powders, tinctures and specialist supplements — are now appearing in gummies, chewables and chocolate products marketed around cognition, calmness and stress management. What was previously niche wellness culture is being reformulated into products that resemble everyday sweets. NÜRØ Energy Gummies, for example,
combine caffeine and L-theanine with lion’s mane mushroom extract, positioning themselves around “clean energy” and “laser focus”. The product adopts the language of scientific supplementation — “clinical-grade”, “science- backed”, “focus gummies” — while remaining structurally indistinguishable from mainstream confectionery. Lion’s mane in particular has become one of the defining ingredients of this new category because of growing interest in its possible cognitive and neurological effects. Wellness publications increasingly describe it not simply as a supplement but as a “nootropic” associated with memory, concentration and long-term brain health. Yet the rise of mushroom confectionery has
also exposed the tensions and uncertainties surrounding functional ingredients. Consumer discussions online reveal increasing scepticism around extract quality, dosage transparency and scientific validity. On specialist mushroom supplement forums, users frequently
26 • KENNEDY’S CONFECTION • MAY 2026
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