sponsored content

PerfectaGEL®: From days to hours for vegan gummies

PerfectaGEL® can cut vegan gummy drying from 36-72 hours to as little as three, depending on the application. Here is the technology behind it.

For manufacturers of starch-based vegan gummies, the drying cabinet can determine the pace of the entire factory. Traditional batches may spend 36 to 72 hours there before demoulding. Throughout that time, cabinet space remains occupied and the next batch must wait for capacity. Increasing output can therefore mean investing in more drying space, rather than getting more from the equipment already on site.

Royal Avebe has developed PerfectaGEL^® ISET to address that bottleneck. Depending on the application, this instant-setting potato starch can cut gummy drying to as little as three hours. The reduction is more than a faster step in an otherwise unchanged recipe: it gives manufacturers a different way to think about capacity, moulding, and the development of plant-based gummies.

Setting the pace at the point of deposit

PerfectaGEL^® ISET is a low-viscosity, instant-setting modified potato starch. It sets immediately after depositing and delivers a firm, elastic texture with clean demoulding. That fast set allows gummies to move through drying much sooner than conventional starch-based versions. The result is a shorter cycle without giving up the bite consumers expect from a gummy.

The time saving must still be considered in the context of each application. ‘As little as three hours’ describes what is achievable with suitable products and processing conditions; it is not a fixed drying time for every formulation. For a manufacturer, the important question is how the ingredient performs with its own recipe, moulds and line setup.

More freedom to choose a moulding process

The technology works in traditional starch moulds and in rigid moulds. This matters because the two systems handle moisture differently. Starch moulds absorb moisture, whereas rigid moulds do not. If a product needs days to dry, keeping a rigid-mould line moving would require an impractically large number of moulds. Reducing drying to hours makes rigid moulding a more practical option for plant-based gummies.

There is a second formulation opportunity. Fortifying vegan gummies with vitamins and minerals can be difficult when a pectin-based recipe depends on a narrow pH range to set. Added ingredients may shift the pH and affect gelling. PerfectaGEL^® ISET does not rely on that narrow setting window, giving manufacturers scope to develop fortified gummies while retaining the firm, elastic texture and clean release needed in production.

One process change, two business priorities

When the drying cabinet sets the ceiling on output, a shorter cycle can release capacity from existing assets. More batches can move through the same drying space over time, rather than waiting for additional cabinets. Less time in the drying stage can also reduce energy use. The size of either benefit depends on the manufacturer’s formulation, equipment, and operating conditions, so the commercial and environmental case needs to be assessed against the line on which the gummies will be made.

This is why the distinction between a laboratory result and production performance matters. Avebe’s confectionery specialists focus on how the ingredient behaves in the moulding and drying processes that manufacturers actually use. A faster set is valuable because it opens possibilities across the line: a shorter cabinet cycle, a choice of starch or rigid moulds, and greater flexibility for fortified products.

PerfectaGEL^® has won the Ingredients Innovation category at the World Confectionery Awards 2026 for its contribution to faster vegan gummy production. For manufacturers exploring the category, the opportunity is concrete: evaluate how quickly an appealing gummy can be made, demoulded, and moved through the drying stage on their own equipment. The answer could turn a process measured in days into one measured in hours.

Discover more about PerfectaGEL^® and our other potato-based solutions at Fi Europe 2026, stand #31D36.

This piece of content is provided by an advertiser or created on behalf of an advertiser. The views or opinions expressed in this piece of content do not reflect those of Informa.