Sweet manufacturing: Advancements in starch-free gummy production, multiple-dose chocolate and enrobing tech

01 Feb 2024 --- The recently concluded ISM & ProSweets event spotlighted advancements in industrial-scale manufacturing for indulgent sweet snacking. Notable highlights included machinery advancements in universal dosing systems for chocolate production, starch-free medicated gummy lines and coating technologies for enrobed sweet treats.

Food Ingredients First reported from the show floor organized in Cologne, Germany, speaking to equipment specialists Baker Perkins, Awema and Wolf.

Starch-free medicated confectionery processing
At the show, Baker Perkins featured its ServoForm Mini starch-free depositing system, which is a small batch lab-scale depositor that deposits candy syrup or fruit paste into solid molds at rates of up to 54 kg per hour. Applications include small- to medium-batch manufacturing, new product development and the production of marketing samples. 

Ideally suited to the functional and medicated confectionery sector, it can flexibly produce gummies, jellies, hard candy, toffee and lollipops on the same machine — switching between formats is simply a matter of using different molds.

Baker Perkins featured its ServoForm Mini starch-free depositing system.The ServoForm Mini uses a starch-free process with various hygienic characteristics — solid molds, a non-contact ejection system, a fully automatic wash-through function, and no recycling of starch — that make it ideal for the healthcare confectionery sector.

Many gummy products are made using a starch molding process that is incompatible with cGMP and incapable of validation, highlighting the company. The hygienic nature of starch-free depositing adheres to the principles of cGMP, and the process can validate FDA and EMA standards.

“We are coming away from the typical starch mogul line that some other suppliers typically use. We work with polycarbonate molds, during the process of cooking the products to a higher Brix,” Tom Philips, sales account manager at Baker Perkins, tells Food Ingredients First.

“This means we don’t need to dry the product — we can deposit it straight into our polycarbonate mold and they can be taken to a conditioning room or a setting room, demolded and taken away to be sugar sanded and oil glazed,” he explains.

“It is more hygienic and requires less investment — because you don’t need to purchase a mogul line — and mold handling is a lot easier than handling starch.”

The ServoForm Mini’s process and control are fully automatic with recipe storage and recall, enabling the depositor to be set up “at the touch of a button.” It uses the same process and control technology as larger systems within its line. Baker Perkins offers equipment that scales up production volumes to outputs ranging between 200 and 1,000 kg per hour.

“We produce equipment for manufacturing 1.8 metric tons worth of gummies, 1 metric ton of hard candy, 950 kg of lollipops. The possibilities of our equipment are quite vast,” notes Philips.

Baker Perkins emphasizes the high accuracy of its machine’s mixing, cooking and depositing processes. It is designed to offer exactly the right proportion of active ingredients, where every deposited piece is precisely the same weight, and the process is reproducible.

“Looking ahead, gummies and jellies are trending at the moment, so we have a lot of customers looking to go into the jelly and gummy market,” says Philips. “We help our customers produce any sort of shapes using the bookmold technology that we have and offer design services in our lab to help them create these 3D models.”

Universal dosing system
In the world of chocolate manufacturing, precision, efficiency and quality remain paramount. Awema, an innovator in confectionery equipment, was at the trade fair exhibiting its Awema OS8 Smart Line, a universal dosing machine designed to streamline the chocolate production process while minimizing manual labor costs.

The OS8 Smart Line contains heated mass hoppers that enable the processing of two different chocolate masses, resulting in a single end product. The machine also offers complete line control with its Universal Dosing Machine, including recipe management and fully automatic production process control.

Awema showcased its OS8 Smart Line, a universal dosing machine designed to streamline the chocolate production.The line is also equipped with Awema’s One-Shot technology, which uses a synchronized depositing of filling and shell mass into a mold. This technique is suited for the production of almost all filled chocolate items — notably, filled pralines, truffles, bars and napolitains — using the Long One-Shot technique. Even razor-thin “After Eight” mint plates can be made.

“Our new smart line is for small to mid-sized confectioneries. We can produce up to 50 kg per hour of tablets, pralines or chocolate balls,” Adriano Di Monaco, chocolate technologist at Awema, tells us.

“What is special about it is that the entire line contains a mold destacker, dosing system, vibrating conveyor belt, paternoster cooling system, and automatic demolding machine. All of these functionalities combined together is why we called it the Smart Line,” he details.

“It’s very easy to use and you can change the manifold system very fast with our multiple dosing system, which can be alternated very fast. You only need to change the fillings, which can be changed independently. This produces a lot more quantity compared to making various chocolate products by hand. It’s very easy to adjust and set up for producing a new product.”

Additional options for extending the machine include inclusion mixers, full nut depositors, decorating devices and bookmould handling devices. It is offered with a complimentary remote control for customer support and assistance.

Coated production
In other exhibited machinery at the trade fair, Wolf showcased its belt coater for chocolates and sweet snacks, addressing the robust trend on the market for coated confectionery.

These machines feature a programmable logic controller system, enabling full automation when combined with optional components, such as weighing cells. This automation minimizes the need for manual operation and ensures consistent product quality. 

Furthermore, a programmable recipe control simplifies the process and guarantees the uniformity of the final product. The machine’s versatility allows for customization to suit various coating process requirements.

Exhibited equipment at the Wolf booth.Maurice Wolf, Area Sales Manager, elaborated on the exhibited machinery, sharing: “We offer a range of equipment, including forming machines, decorating units for biscuits and bars, tempering machines, chocolate tanks, in addition to our flagship machine, the belt coating system.”

He continues, highlighting Wolf’s latest innovation, the belt coater, which enables the production of multilayered products. He also notes that the demand for coated products surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as consumers sought higher-value products.

One of the machine’s key features is its adaptability. It can create a wide array of products, from gel-like substances to coated biscuits. This versatility is pivotal, as clients often require diverse products to be produced on the same machine.

The Wolf coater allows the production of formed waffle pieces, breakable items, small confections, sticky fruits and larger coated products.

Wolf’s machine flexibility extends to producing various types of layered products, including combinations like white chocolate followed by a milk chocolate layer. This versatility opens up possibilities for crafting unique items, such as fruity masses enveloped in a nutritious coating, catering to the health-conscious snacking trend in the fitness industry.

Maurice Wolf also highlighted the evolving consumer preferences, noting that coated popcorn was a prominent trend last year, while this year’s focus is on fruit, energy balls and protein snacks.

By Benjamin Ferrer