As the gummy supplement market continues its rapid expansion, many formulators face a persistent challenge — how to deliver optimal absorption of minerals without compromising taste or texture. By leveraging micronized citrate salts of magnesium and calcium, Jungbunzlauer says it can help brands create gummies that are smooth, flavorful, and highly bioavailable.
Ahead of the company’s upcoming webinar, titled “Better gummies, better absorption: formulating gummies with organic mineral salts,” Nutrition Insight sits down with Emily Orr, Jungbunzlauer’s senior food scientist in application development and speaker at the webinar.
Orr explains how the company’s next-generation ingredients allow brands to balance functionality with sensory appeal while meeting clean label and performance expectations.
She underscores recent findings that highlight differences in absorption. For instance, Jungbunzlauer’s citrate and bisglycinate forms provide more bioavailability than magnesium oxide. Orr says that this emphasizes the impact ingredient selection has on consumer health outcomes.
“Minerals with high bioavailability — such as citrates, gluconates, and glycinates — are generally preferred for optimal digestion and absorption,” she reveals. “Magnesium gummies, formulated from multiple magnesium sources, have emerged as a standout trend in the growing gummy supplement market.”
Micronized minerals
Among mineral and supplement formats, gummies are growing in popularity. Innova Market Insights’ data suggest that gummies were the fastest growing format from 2020 to 2024 in Europe and North America.
Orr highlights that magnesium gummies lead in current trends and innovation and are accelerating across the functional confectionery space. She adds that Jungbunzlauer’s technology can help brands raise the bar on formulation, functionality, efficacy, and convenience.
Emily Orr, Jungbunzlauer’s senior food scientist in application development.
“If your gummy feels like a sandbox snack, it’s time to rethink the formulation,” Orr stresses. “When working with minerals like magnesium and calcium, texture can be a real challenge, especially at higher loadings — to avoid a gritty, sandy mouthfeel, we recommend using micronized mineral salts, which offer a much smoother texture and better dispersion.”
“At Jungbunzlauer, our micronized calcium citrate and trimagnesium citrate are specifically designed for this purpose. Not only do they improve mouthfeel, but they also deliver high bioavailability, helping brands meet both sensory and nutritional goals.”
Next-gen mineral combinations
Looking ahead, Jungbunzlauer says that brands will increasingly seek to merge pleasure, efficacy, and science in one bite-sized format. Moreover, the company spotlights that magnesium-based formulations and innovative mineral combinations are expected to shape the next generation of functional gummies.
To that end, the company debuted its fully-reacted magnesium bisglycinate simultaneously at SupplySide Global 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, and at CPHI 2025 in Frankfurt, Germany.
“Jungbunzlauer’s mineral salts are fully reacted or chelated, which enhances their stability and makes them excellent candidates for gummy formulations,” Orr spotlights. “In general, it is better to use highly bioavailable minerals, like citrates, gluconates, and glycinates, for optimal absorption.”
“So long as the mineral salt being used has low solubility in water, using it in a gummy is no problem,” she concludes. “We offer recipe cards for trimagnesium citrate nonahydrate and tricalcium citrate pectin gummies — these are not yet available online, but our inside sales team is happy to provide them and answer questions.”
