With the upgrading of consumption, traditional food has become more and more healthy, and candy has begun to upgrade in the direction of health. As far as it is concerned, the entire candy industry is trying to find new breakthroughs in functions, vegetarian nutrition, sugar reduction and other innovations, which has become the most critical part of the candy industry's innovation trend.
Functional sugar
In the candy category, functionality is a potential development direction. Although the market share of functional candy in the current market is small, its health effect is still a profit growth point that cannot be ignored.
According to the data of China Commercial Industry Research Institute, the sales of functional candy in the domestic market has grown significantly. It is estimated that the functional sugar market will exceed 8.6 billion yuan in 2022. According to NBJ data, it took only four 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 fudge will become the fastest growing consumer dosage form of health care products among the post-90s, Generation Z and other young groups. At present, there are products on the market, such as soft candy supplemented with vitamins and minerals, DHA soft candy, yeast zinc soft candy, probiotic soft candy, melatonin soft candy, collagen soft candy, etc.
The appearance of functional candy is an extension of traditional candy brands to high-end products, and is a 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" hit, so consumers also put forward demands for candy products - not only nutrition and health, but also less sugar.
Under the background that sugar reduction has become a global trend, the daily demand for traditional candies has gradually decreased. The Report on Deep Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions for the Confectionery Industry from 2019 to 2023 shows that in 2017, China's candy output was 3.31 million tons, down 6.0% from 3.52 million tons in 2016; In 2018, China's candy production declined to 2.88 million tons, a year-on-year decline of 13.0%, and the decline was further intensified.
To this end, many enterprises have introduced sugar free lollipops, such as Dr. Xu Fuji Xiong's sugar free lollipops, three squirrel deer blue sugar free lollipops, sugar cube sugar free lollipops, etc. The development of sugar free candy is worth looking forward to.
Vegetarian candy
The plant based proposition is another important consumption trend in the candy market. Data shows that from 2016 to 2020, the compound annual growth rate of candy products claiming vegetarianism was 17%, while the compound annual growth rate of candy products claiming plants 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 considered not only healthier, but also more ethical and sustainable. For example, the low sugar vegetarian soft candy marketed by Yumy Bear, a Canadian candy brand, uses plant ingredients instead of gelatin.
In recent years, with the diversification of consumers' health demands, many candy manufacturers regard the research and development of new products that meet consumer needs as the top priority, and a steady stream of innovative products inject new vitality into the candy market. Take the "healthy" train, and the candy industry moves forward slowly.