OTC Sweets

Sweet success in emerging markets

OTC sweets are innovative products with health-promoting and biologically effective properties due to the addition of different ingredients. The market for this is relatively young and therefore offers manufacturers, like Winkler und Dünnebier Süßwarenmaschinen GmbH, a wide range of opportunities and enormous growth potential.

The global cannabidiol market was valued at US$4.6 billion in 2018 and is anticipated to witness a lucrative CAGR of 22.2% over the forecast period, with candy products described as a significant vehicle for consumption.

“As consumers become familiar with the benefits CBD can bring to their mental and physical health, companies are increasingly tapping into the hottest new trend, leading to new product launches such as mood-uplifting chocolate, relaxation tea and sleep aid gummies.”

This last year has seen an abundance of trade shows, product launches and discussions on the utilisation of CBD in confectionery goods. Unlike THC – the psychoactive component in marijuana – cannabidiol, or CBD oil, is legal for consumption in many countries across the globe. Derived from the cannabis plant, it comes with a whole host of perceived health benefits, from anxiety relief to pain management.

As such, this year has seen a monumental growth in its use in confectionery products. A new 2020 trend tracker report from Innova Market Insights describes the relative newcomer as one of the most high-profile ingredients in recent months. As consumers become familiar with the benefits CBD can bring to their mental and physical health, companies are increasingly tapping into the hottest new trend, leading to new product launches such as mood-uplifting chocolate, relaxation tea and sleep aid gummies.

OTC sweets with active ingredients are becoming increasingly popular with consumers. Trendy and tasty products have great potential within the market for food supplements and over-the-counter medicines. Also, with so-called supplements, e.g. new products based on hemp, companies can be successful in rapidly growing markets. ‘sweetOTC’ is a new division of Winkler und Dünnebier

Süßwarenmaschinen GmbH and offers its customers complete solutions in this entire area.

More than a trend

In recent years, consumer´s individual health care entered increasingly to the focus. The ongoing trend towards a healthy lifestyle is therefore also reflected in the increasing number of sweets, becoming products with health-promoting or biologically effective properties by addition of different ingredients. These products have a very large acceptance in the market e.g. as a nutritional supplements or nutraceuticals, since consumers use them in many ways to support their individual health care.

From vitamin candies to fruit gums for headaches or smoking cessation - the market is diverse and growing steadily. Supplements division is a particularly strongly expanding economy branch. This applies e.g. for products with hemp / cannabis active ingredients. The positive properties of the hemp components are well known, enjoy a high level of acceptance and are used in different forms and dosages, even more in food, OTC products and pharmaceutical preparations.

Sebastian Dommasch, GMP Development Engineer at sweetOTC, comments: “With the development and commercialisation of new confectionery products in this field, customers are able to enter new markets and to secure decisive competitive advantages for the future. As a reliable partner sweetOTC supports its customers on this path from the beginning and helps to take advantage of new market opportunities with new products and tailor-made, legally compliant production.”

The specialists of sweetOTC adopt a holistic approach and offer their customers not only the complete development of new and individual OTC confectionery and supplements but also the corresponding matching production processes with the appropriate machines and components.

A particularly important factor is the precise and reproducible dosage of active additives and, of course, the fulfillment of GMP conformity for quality assurance - here the sweetOTC specialists can benefit from decades of experience. On the way to design innovative OTC and cannabis products, customers can access the company’s own product technology lab which is specialised on the development of new and optimisation of existing depositing processes and the associated process technology behind.