Booth 5436

Global nutraceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Sirio Pharma has begun manufacturing soft chews, and will showcase this new capability at SupplySide Global.

Soft chews offer several benefits. The confectionary-style makeup can carry up to four times more mass of active ingredients than other oral formats. This results in a substantially reduced number of pieces a consumer must take in order to get a full dose, making adherence easier.

The soft chews’ base of polyols, fibers, hydrocolloids, and lipid carriers becomes a self-emulsifying system when exposed to gastric fluids. This improves solubilization and facilitates uptake across the intestinal membranes. This also enables co-delivery of macronutrients, minerals, botanicals, vitamins, and specialty actives.

Soft chews are conducive to multi-layer flavor masking and texturing. The lipids and fibers buffer against bitter or metallic notes, while controlled release of sweeteners and flavor oils creates a smoother sensory profile compared to single-phase carriers. This improves historically challenging actives like iron, zinc, certain amino acids, and botanical extracts.

Consumers also consider soft chews satisfying, as they mimic indulgent confectionery items instead of supplement or nutraceutical products, Sirio noted.

Sirio’s experts will be available to discuss manufacturing benefits of soft chew products, such as superior texture control properties; a simplified path to exemplary mouthfeel; favorable heat stability and shelf life free of melting, sweating, or clumping issues; elimination of starch molding typically required for gummies; and expanded packaging options that combine cost effectiveness with extensive branding opportunities.

In the U.S., soft chew sales rose 41% in 2024, clearing $100 million for the first time. Sales are driven by immunity, bone health, and cognitive support claims, and other functionalities are also gaining momentum.

Mark Dewis, who joined Sirio as general manager of the Americas business unit, was influential in the decision to expand into soft chews.

“In addition to gaining impressive inroads with consumers due to their satisfying taste and mouthfeel, soft chews offer exceptional versatility and robustness concerning the types and amounts of active ingredients they can deliver,” said Dewis. “Combined with their relative ease in manufacturing, these attributes make soft chews an ideal addition to our wide array of product formats. We’re excited to bring our decades of development expertise to this rapidly emerging segment.”