With the upgrading of consumption, traditional food has more and more health attributes, and candy has also begun to upgrade towards health. At present, the whole candy industry is trying to find new breakthroughs in functions, vegetarian nutrition, sugar reduction and other creative ideas, which has also become the most critical part of the innovation trend of the candy industry.
Functional sugar
In the candy category, functionality is a potential development direction. Although the market share of functional candy is small, its health effect is still a growth point of interest that cannot be ignored.
According to the data of the China Commercial Industry Research Institute, the sales of functional candy in the domestic market has increased significantly, and it is expected that the functional sugar market will exceed 8.6 billion yuan in 2022. According to NBJ data, it took only 4 years (2014-2018) to double the global sales of functional candy.
Among functional candies, soft candy is particularly popular. According to the consumption data of Tmall, in 2020, functional soft candy will become the fastest growing consumption dosage form of health care products among the post-90s, generation Z and other young groups. At present, there are vitamin and mineral supplement soft candy, DHA soft candy, yeast zinc soft candy, probiotics soft candy, melatonin soft candy, collagen soft candy and other products on the market.
The launch of functional candy is the extension of traditional candy brands to high-end products, and the high-level and multi-level demand of consumers for candy products.
sugarless candy 
With the increasing demand for people's health, the trend of "low sugar, no sugar" has hit, so consumers have also put forward demands for candy products - not only nutrition and health, but also less sugar.
In the context of the global trend of reducing sugar, the daily demand for traditional candy is gradually decreasing. According to the Report on Deep Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions of Candy Industry from 2019 to 2023, China's candy production in 2017 was 3.31 million tons, down 6.0% from 3.52 million tons in 2016; In 2018, China's candy production fell to 2.88 million tons, with a year-on-year decrease of 13.0%, which further increased.
To this end, many enterprises have launched sugar-free lollipops, such as Dr. Xu Fuji Xiong's sugar-free lollipops, three squirrels and deer's blue blue sugar-free lollipops, sugar cube sugar-free lollipops, etc. The development of sugar-free candy is worth looking forward to.
Vegetarian candy
Plant-based claims are another important consumption trend in the candy market. The data shows that from 2016 to 2020, the CAGR of candy products claiming vegetarianism was 17%, while the CAGR of candy products claiming vegetarianism more than doubled last year.
Candy manufacturers are removing raw materials such as dairy products, gelatin and carmine to meet the growing demand for plant products, which are not only considered healthier, but also more ethical and sustainable. For example, the low-sugar vegetarian soft candy launched by Yummy Bear, a Canadian candy brand, uses plant ingredients instead of gelatin.
In recent years, with the diversification of consumer health demands, a number of candy manufacturers have regarded the research and development of new products that meet consumer needs as their top priority, and a continuous stream of innovative products has injected new vitality into the candy market. Take the "health" train and the candy industry will move forward slowly.