Sirio Pharma (Sirio), a nutraceutical contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), is entering the soft chews space with a robust range of development options for brand owners looking to capitalise on this increasingly popular nutritional format.
Sirio Pharma
Subject matter experts from the company will be on hand to discuss this capabilities expansion at SupplySide Global Booth #5436, October 29-30 in Las Vegas.
Soft chews bring a variety of formulation-specific benefits. For starters, soft chews’ confectionary-style makeup allows them to carry up to four times more active mass than most other oral formats. As a result, soft chews can offer substantially reduced unit burden – the number of pieces a consumer must take daily to achieve an efficacious dose. Among other advantages, this can bolster adherence in long-term categories such as bone health, joint support and cardiovascular health.
Soft chews’ macronutrient deliverability is owed to a base of polyols, fibres, hydrocolloids and lipid carriers. In addition to providing both structure and stability, lipid carriers – combined with emulsifiers and surfactants – create a self-emulsifying system (SES) when exposed to gastric fluids. This improves solubilisation and facilitates uptake across intestinal membranes. Soft chews also are an ideal platform for multifunctional formulations. Their larger mass and compositional flexibility allow for co-delivery across several categories, including macronutrients, minerals, botanicals, vitamins and specialty bioactives.
In addition, soft chews are highly conducive to multi-layered flavour masking and texturing. Their lipids and fibres provide a buffering effect against bitter or metallic notes, while controlled release of sweeteners and flavour oils creates a smoother sensory profile compared to single-phase carriers. This enables successful and pleasurable delivery of historically challenging actives like iron, zinc, certain amino acids and botanical extracts.
But perhaps most importantly for sustained commercial success, soft chews are seen as thoroughly satisfying to consume. Their viscoelastic texture, combined with a favourable chew-down profile with sustained flavour release, mimics indulgent confectionery items rather than conventional supplement or nutraceutical products.
At SupplySide Global, Sirio Pharma experts also will tout the manufacturing benefits of soft chew products. Among other upsides, these include superior texture control properties providing a simplified path to exemplary mouthfeel; favourable heat stability and shelf life free of melting, sweating or clumping issues; the elimination of starch moulding, which is typically required for gummy formulations; and expanded packaging options that combine cost effectiveness with extensive branding opportunities.
All factors considered, it’s little wonder why soft chews are experiencing an exceptional growth curve. In the U.S., soft chew sales rose 41% in 2024, eclipsing $100 million for the first time. This surge was led by several categories including immunity, bone health and cognitive support, with other functionalities also gaining substantial momentum.
Sirio Pharma’s foray into the soft chews space was significantly influenced by nutrition sector veteran Mark Dewis, who joined the company earlier this year as general manager, Sirio Americas Business Unit.
“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.”