The Sour Gummy Dilemma - Ingredient lesson learned 🧐

“Why haven’t you released a sour gummy bear?! 🙏”

We heard you, aaaand we got this a lot.😅

The answer might surprise you.

But first, a quick lesson in sour gummies…

Gummy candies are traditionally made with a sugar, gelatin, some kind of food grade acid (citric, malic, tartaric), colors and flavors. Pretty straight-forward.

Sour candy coating mix is typically made with: significantly more acid (that sour hit), and a carrier (usually sugar).

HOWEVER, gummies typically degrade and become pretty sticky when bathed in that sour mix. It’s a real challenge faced by every candy maker.

The reason is that the sour mixture actually pulls the moisture OUT of the gummy, making it “sweat” and all that moisture reduces the integrity of the gummy itself. This is a problem, especially when it comes to any kind of shelf life on a store or pantry shelf.

We’ve tried a number of mixtures, and all of them have failed to create a lasting sour gummy we could put on the shelf of any store.

“But, sour gummies are everywhere on store shelves.”

Yes. We know. And ours could be too.😅

There’s actually a simple solution that other gummy makers use all day, every day.

Encapsulated acid.

Sounds so innocent, right? It’s brilliant actually. I mean, taking an acid and encapsulating it in a tiny barrier so it doesn’t affect the gummy is genius.💡

We obviously explored this solution because Grant loves sour gummies best, and so do many of you.

My first question was, what is it encapsulated with? Like, what is that barrier between my gummies and the sour acid that coats it?

Sadly, the answer is a bummer and a hard ‘no’ for me. I won’t bore you with the actual COA (Certificate of Analysis) and technical specs. But, here’s the simple answer.

Encapsulated acids, like citric acid, are coated with hydrogenated vegetable oil (a type of trans fat) to prevent premature dissolution and to control the release of the acid during processing and cooking.

So, no. We won’t be adding “encapsulated acid” to our ingredients list on any of our products. We’ve worked too hard to get here.

And factually, we wouldn’t even have to list the encapsulated acid—just the acids.

Regardless, it hasn’t been the easiest road in creating a sugar-free gummy bear without seed oils, and we aren’t going to change that now.

And we’re certainly not going to add any hydrogenated oils and trans-fats to the mix—even if it doesn’t have to be declared on our label. 🤦🏻♀️

Now that you know about this ingredient, you should know that various encapsulated acids are also a fairly common ingredient listed in many “clean” meat sticks, and not just sour candy.😅

But, fear not.

There is a path to a sour gummy that aligns with our values. And it was weirdly simple.

Grant loves sour bears. I love fruity bears. He crafted a genius solution ages ago. Make sour mix, add Scrummy Gummy Bears, shake and voila! DIY Sour Gummy Bears. 

That's when the idea hit us. Why not make DIY Sour Bears available to EVERYONE? 

So, we did.

Introducing: SWITCH® Sour Mix. 

This sour mix works with our gummy bears and actually pairs well with any fruity candy.

While gummies are still candy, we’d like to think ours is the healthiest option. So, with that close in mind, we’ll keep working on making candy better.

Thanks for tuning in.😉

Additional reading:
What candy doesn't spike blood sugar?

#Ingredients