What equipment is needed to make gummy bears?

The delightful world of gummy bears is not just about the sugary goodness that melts in your mouth; it's an complicated combination of equipment and processes that bring these iconic treats to life. Let's take a behind-the-scenes look at the specialized manufacturing equipment involved in the art of making gummy bears.

Gummies and jellies are manufactured through a carefully controlled sequence of four stages, each supported by specialised equipment. Production begins in the kitchen, where ingredients are precisely weighed, mixed, cooked under heat and vacuum, and then blended with flavours, colours, acids, and other functional components. Next comes moulding, which may use starch-based or starch-free depositing systems to shape the candy mass into its iconic forms. The third stage is conditioning, during which controlled temperature and humidity ensure proper drying and texture development. Finally, the process concludes with finishing steps such as oiling or sanding, which enhance appearance, mouthfeel, and product stability. Below, we will examine each stage in detail — step by step.

What equipment is needed to make gummy bears?

Step 1: Kitchen

Dosing the essentials
The journey of crafting gummy bears begins with precision dosing of pre-cook ingredients. The premix vessel, a crucial player in this process, is designed to dose and blend these ingredients seamlessly.

Adding the sweetness
Given that sugar is a cornerstone of the gummy bear formula, a powder-screw-feeder or vacuum transport takes center stage, expertly dosing crystal sugar into the premix vessel. This ensures the perfect sweetness in every bite.

Precise Gelling Agent and syrup dosing
Equally important is the dosing of the gelling agent, flawlessly executed by another powder-screw-feeder. This step contributes to the unique chewy texture that defines gummy bears. For the sugar syrup, a pump takes charge, often accompanied by a pre-heating step to achieve the ideal viscosity. Balancing the liquid elements is a delicate dance that impacts the final consistency of our beloved gummy bears.

Cooking your gummy mass
Once the premix is a homogeneous blend, it is transferred to buffer vessels, ensuring a continuous supply to the cooker. The cooker, powered by steam, raises the temperature to the critical cooking point, a necessary step in gummy bear alchemy. Various cooking technologies are available, tailored to the specific type of gummies being crafted. After reaching the optimum temperature, the candy mass is cooled down, achieving the required dry solid content by undergoing a vacuum process in a dedicated vessel.

Adding colour and flavour
The journey doesn't end there. Enter the ABS vessel (Automatic Blending System), where post-cook ingredients – acid, color, flavour, and optional functional additions like vitamins – are introduced. Delicately blending the candymass with these final ingredients transforms it into a delightful fusion of fruity appearance and flavour.

Step 2: Depositing Delight

The Mogul system is at the heart of gummy and jelly production, ensuring accurate depositing into starch trays or alternative mould carriers. During this stage, the liquid candy mass is precisely dosed into the cavities, with temperature, viscosity, and fill volume tightly controlled. This guarantees product consistency in weight, shape, and texture, regardless of recipe complexity.

Tanis offers a wide range of Mogul configurations to match different production requirements. Starch-based Mogul lines remain the industry standard for high flexibility and capacity, while non-starch systems provide hygienic solutions with shorter cycle times and faster changeovers. For producers scaling up or diversifying, Tanis provides options ranging from compact lines for smaller outputs to fully automated high-capacity Moguls. Additionally, robotic Mogul lines enable advanced automation, offering precise handling, reduced labor requirements, and integration with digital control systems.

Tray handling and depositor synchronization remain critical in all configurations. Advanced automation ensures continuous operation at high speed while maintaining exact dosing accuracy. Whether running standard single-color gummies or complex multi-layered and center-filled products, the Mogul guarantees repeatability and efficiency.

To see how Tanis enhances Mogul performance with automated feeding and stacking solutions, read our blog on gantry systems.

Step 3: Curing and Conditioning

Once deposited, the filled trays are transferred to conditioning rooms, where tightly controlled parameters of temperature, relative humidity, and residence time initiate the curing phase. This stage is critical for moisture migration and structure formation, allowing the liquid mass to develop into stable gummies with the required texture, chew, and shelf life. Precise climate control ensures uniform drying across all trays, minimizing variation in water activity and preventing defects such as stickiness, sugar bloom, or hardening.

For a deeper dive into the science and engineering behind this step, including the role of airflow dynamics and conditioning cycle optimization, read our blog article 'How to Dry Gummies'.

Step 4: Finishing

In the final processing stage, gummies undergo surface treatment to ensure the desired appearance and handling properties. An oiling drum applies a controlled layer of glazing agent, providing a uniform glossy finish and preventing stickiness. Alternatively, a sanding drum deposits a calibrated sugar coating, resulting in a textured surface with added crunch. For a more detailed explanation of these processes, refer to our blog article “Perfecting the Sweet Finish: Sugar Coating Solutions.” At this stage, the gummies are fully prepared for transfer to the packaging line.

Conclusion

Gummy candy creation is a delicate process of dosing, cooking, shaping, and finishing, which needs specialized equipment. The result? The beloved gums in any shape that bring joy to candy enthusiasts of all ages. Would you like to know more about producing your own gummy candy, our team of expert is ready for you. Tanis has its own Innovation Center to help you develop your perfect candy and design your perfect gummy production line. All our manufacturing equipment is tailored for your needs, read more about our gummy manufacturing equipment.