Why not a calcium gummy? Or, why we chose a calcium chew pt. 3
Continuing the conversation about choosing the chew (yes, pun intended), we wanted to address the reason why we choose a calcium chew over a calcium gummy. Gummies are very popular right now: they’re cute, they’re colorful, and they taste like candy. But when we set out to make a chewable calcium that actually helps support women’s bone health, a gummy had manufacturing constraints and shortcomings that we carefully considered before deciding the calcium gummy format was far inferior to the calcium chew. Honestly, the more we looked into it, the more obvious the choice became between a calcium chew and a calcium gummy.
The main concern about calcium gummies is that they are loaded with sugar or sugar alcohols. They might look like vitamins, but ingredient-wise, they’re not that far off from gumdrops. Some even have coatings or glazes to make them shiny or less sticky. But if you're taking two (or more) a day to hit your calcium needs, that sugar adds up fast. During our R&D process at Cornell, we looked into a variety of flavors and decided to make a calcium chew that’s naturally sweetened with organic dates. No added sugars, no syrups, no artificial ingredients at all. We appreciated the time we took during the long R&D process to make a decision we can stand by, especially now that we’re addressing a larger market.
Calcium gummies have other manufacturing issues. There’s also a limit to how much calcium you can actually fit in a gummy. It’s a texture consideration. If you try to add too much, it turns chalky or tough. A lot of calcium gummies only give you a small amount per serving, which might be fine if your diet is perfect, but for a lot of women, it’s not nearly enough. With our chewable calcium, we use milk minerals as the source, which also come with magnesium, phosphorus, and trace minerals your bones need to actually use that calcium.
Absorption and dosing are two other main reasons we quickly decided against a calcium gummies. This is true of all gummies but it’s surprisingly hard to ensure every gummy has the exact amount of calcium it claims. The soft, bouncy texture makes them tricky to manufacture consistently. Calcium tends to settle or clump during the production process, and even slight variations can mean one gummy has more and another has less. Also, calcium gummies use an isolated form of calcium and don’t come with the full spectrum of nutrients that help your body absorb and use the calcium. Our calcium chew is food-based and includes vitamin D from sun-exposed mushrooms, which helps your body actually put that calcium to work. We wanted it to be as close to real food as possible — because your body understands food.
We’re not here to make candy. We’re here to help women take care of their bones in a way that feels simple and doable. A calcium chew that tastes good and delivers real food nutrition.
