The gummy vitamin market has absolutely exploded over the past decade, but here's something most brands discover way too late: even a perfectly formulated gummy can turn into a complete disaster if you store it in the wrong container. I've watched premium products-ones that took months to develop and cost thousands to formulate-turn into sticky, degraded messes simply because someone picked packaging that looked good on the shelf instead of packaging that actually worked.
Let's make sure that doesn't happen to you.
Why Gummies Are So Damn Difficult to Store
If tablets and capsules are the reliable Honda Civics of the supplement world, gummies are more like exotic sports cars. They're finicky, they demand specific conditions, and they'll let you know immediately when something's wrong.
Here's what makes them such a challenge:
They're inherently moist. Gummies contain 10-20% moisture by design-that's what gives them their signature chewy texture. But this also makes them hygroscopic, which is a fancy way of saying they're constantly trying to balance their moisture content with whatever's around them. Stick them in a humid environment and they'll absorb moisture until they're a sticky blob. Put them with too much desiccant in a dry climate and they'll turn hard as rocks. It's a constant balancing act.
Heat is their enemy. That gelatin or pectin structure that holds everything together starts getting soft around 75°F. I've seen bottles opened in Florida warehouses where all 60 gummies had melted into one giant super-gummy. Not exactly the customer experience you're going for.
Their ingredients like to wander. The glycerin and sorbitol that keep gummies soft don't necessarily stay where you put them. Over time and under the wrong conditions, these ingredients migrate, leading to texture changes that consumers notice right away. And trust me, they notice.
Understanding these challenges is half the battle. The other half is choosing containers that can actually handle them.
The Spec That Changes Everything: MVTR
If I could get every supplement brand to focus on just one thing when selecting gummy containers, it would be this: Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate (MVTR).
MVTR measures exactly how much water vapor passes through your container material over time. For gummies, you absolutely need containers with MVTR values below 0.5 g/100 in²/day at 100°F and 90% relative humidity. That's not some arbitrary number I pulled out of thin air-it's the threshold where your gummies stay stable over a realistic shelf life instead of turning into a science experiment.
Here's how common materials stack up:
- High-density polyethylene (HDPE): 0.3-0.5 MVTR-the industry sweet spot
- Polypropylene (PP): 0.3-0.5 MVTR-performs similarly to HDPE
- Standard PET: 0.8-1.2 MVTR-often inadequate for gummies
- Glass: Essentially zero-the ultimate protection
The difference between 0.4 and 1.0 might not sound like much, but over 24 months in a place like Florida? That's literally the difference between perfect gummies and a flood of customer complaints.
Here's the thing: most packaging suppliers won't volunteer MVTR data unless you specifically ask for it. And if they can't provide it when you do ask? Find a different supplier. Period.
HDPE Bottles: Why Everyone Uses Them
Walk down any supplement aisle and you'll see that most gummy bottles are made from HDPE-that opaque white or colored plastic. There's a good reason this material dominates the market, and it's not just because it's cheap.
What makes HDPE great:
- Excellent moisture barrier (0.3-0.4 MVTR)
- Doesn't react with your ingredients
- Cost-effective at scale ($0.15-0.25 per 60-count bottle)
- Lightweight, which saves you money on shipping
- Available with child-resistant closures
- Battle-tested across millions of units
Where HDPE falls short:
- Poor oxygen barrier (bad news for ingredients that oxidize)
- Can absorb essential oils from gummies over time
- Not transparent-you can't see the product
- Permeable to some volatile compounds
For most standard gummy formulations-your basic multivitamins, vitamin C, B-complex-HDPE performs beautifully. It's the safe, reliable choice that won't let you down. Just make sure you're working with food-grade, virgin resin. Recycled or lower-grade HDPE can have inconsistent barrier properties and potential contamination issues that'll come back to haunt you.
PET Bottles: Gorgeous But Potentially Problematic
PET bottles are beautiful. That crystal-clear transparency makes your gummies look amazing on the shelf. Premium brands love the upscale appearance, and honestly, I get it. They really do look fantastic.
But here's the problem: standard PET has MVTR values that typically run from 0.8-1.5, which is well above what you need for gummy stability.
If you're dead set on using PET (and again, I understand the appeal), you need barrier enhancement. This means:
- EVOH layers sandwiched within the PET structure
- Specialty coatings applied to the interior surface
- Oxygen scavengers built directly into the material
These modifications can bring MVTR down to acceptable levels, but they come with a price tag-often 2-3 times the cost of standard HDPE.
I worked with a brand once that launched with standard PET bottles because the founder thought they looked more premium. Their stability testing was only done at controlled room temperature in their lab. Everything looked great. Six months after launch, they got hammered with returns from their Texas and Florida distributors. The gummies had absorbed moisture and fused together into unusable clumps. Beautiful packaging doesn't mean a thing if the product inside fails.
If you go with PET, insist on barrier-enhanced versions and do rigorous humidity testing before you commit to a large production run.
Glass Bottles: Maximum Protection, Maximum Cost
Glass bottles are basically the luxury car of gummy packaging. They offer virtually zero moisture transmission and complete oxygen barrier protection. Nothing from the container migrates into your product. Stability testing in glass consistently crushes plastic by significant margins.
I've seen vitamin E potency stay completely stable for 36+ months in glass while the same formulation in standard HDPE dropped 15-20% over the same period. That's a massive difference.
Glass makes sense when:
- You're working with highly oxidation-sensitive ingredients (omega-3s, CoQ10, astaxanthin)
- Your brand positioning is ultra-premium
- Your price point can absorb the packaging cost (glass runs $0.40-0.75+ per unit)
- Your distribution channels minimize breakage risk
The downsides of glass:
- Weight dramatically increases your shipping costs
- Breakability leads to returns and unhappy customers
- Higher cost impacts margins, especially on value products
- Requires careful handling throughout your entire supply chain
For high-end gummy supplements targeting consumers who are willing to pay premium prices for premium quality, glass makes both functional and marketing sense. For value brands competing on price? The economics rarely work out.
Closures and Seals: The Half of the Equation Everyone Forgets
Your container body is only part of the story. The closure determines whether that container actually maintains its barrier properties or not.
Induction seals are absolutely non-negotiable for gummy vitamins. You know that foil seal you peel off when you first open a bottle? That's an induction seal, and it provides:
- A true hermetic seal until first opening
- Additional moisture barrier (0.02-0.05 MVTR)
- Tamper evidence for consumer safety
- 6-12 months of additional shelf life
The composition of that seal matters too. Pulp/aluminum/polyethylene laminates significantly outperform simple pulp or foam seals. That thin aluminum layer blocks both moisture and oxygen-it's your best friend in the fight for stability.
If your product contains iron (which requires child-resistant packaging by law), make absolutely sure the CR mechanism doesn't compromise the seal integrity. I've tested bottles where the child-resistant design created tiny channels that let moisture sneak in. The CR functionality worked perfectly, but the barrier properties completely failed. Not ideal.
Desiccants: Necessary But Easy to Screw Up
Every gummy bottle needs a desiccant packet. But there's a right way to use them and several very wrong ways.
Proper desiccant strategy:
- Size appropriately: 1-2 grams per 60-count bottle as a baseline
- Use silica gel or molecular sieves
- Make sure the desiccant doesn't directly touch the gummies
- Consider non-indicating desiccants to avoid dye bleeding issues
Here's the trap I see constantly: brands using enormous desiccant packets to compensate for containers with poor barrier properties. This is like trying to bail out a sinking boat instead of fixing the leak.
What happens is you create moisture gradients inside the bottle. The gummies closest to the desiccant become hard while the others stay normal. Consumers open the bottle, find an inconsistent product, and they blame your formulation-not your packaging strategy.
Better approach: Use containers with proper MVTR values and appropriately-sized desiccants. Let the container do the heavy lifting while the desiccant provides insurance against minor moisture ingress.
Temperature: The Variable That Ruins Everything
Container selection can't fully compensate for temperature abuse, but smart choices definitely extend your margin of safety.
Here are the critical thresholds you need to know:
- 85°F: Gelatin starts softening; gummies may begin fusing together
- 95°F: Significant structural degradation begins
- 105°F+: You're looking at potential melting or severe softening
Now here's something that has saved brands millions in returns: container color affects internal temperature.
White and natural-colored HDPE bottles can be 10-15°F cooler than dark bottles when they're exposed to sunlight or sitting in warm storage. This isn't some minor technical detail-it has massive implications for products distributed in hot climates or stored in vehicles during shipping.
If your products are going to the Southwest US, Middle East, or tropical regions, specify white or natural HDPE over colored options. This one simple choice can literally mean the difference between stable gummies and melted disasters.
Different Gummies Need Different Solutions
Not all gummy formulations have identical storage needs. What works for one type might be completely wrong for another.
Gelatin-Based Gummies
These are more temperature-sensitive but typically less hygroscopic than pectin varieties. They perform well in standard HDPE with moderate desiccant-the proven combination for most applications.
Pectin-Based (Vegan) Gummies
Higher sugar and acid content makes these more hygroscopic. You'll want to consider lower MVTR containers (below 0.3) and slightly larger desiccant packets. Climate-specific packaging strategies often make sense for pectin gummies.
Oil-Infused Gummies (Omega-3, CBD, etc.)
These represent the maximum packaging challenge:
- Oils can actually migrate into HDPE container walls
- Extreme oxidation risk requires serious oxygen barriers
- Often require glass or barrier-enhanced containers
- Nitrogen flushing before sealing is highly recommended
- Oxygen-scavenging caps are worth the added cost
I once had to reformulate omega-3 gummies specifically because the brand insisted on using HDPE bottles. The oil absorption into the container walls and the oxidation made a stable formulation nearly impossible. We switched to glass and all the problems disappeared.
Sugar-Free Gummies
Formulations using sugar alcohols behave differently from their sugar-based cousins:
- Generally less hygroscopic than sugar-based versions
- Can crystallize if moisture drops too low (don't go crazy with desiccant)
- HDPE typically works fine unless you have other sensitive ingredients
Testing: Where Theory Meets Reality
Before you commit to containers for a major production run, you need to conduct proper testing. Not theoretical testing-real-world testing.
Accelerated stability protocol:
- 40°C/75% RH for 3 months (simulates roughly 18 months at normal conditions)
- Monitor moisture content (should stay within ±1% of initial)
- Track texture changes with actual human testing
- Assess appearance (sticking, sugar blooming, color shifts)
- Test active ingredient potency
- Check microbial stability
Real-world stress testing (often more revealing):
- Temperature cycling between 15-30°C daily
- Extreme heat exposure at 50°C for 2 weeks
- Refrigeration cycling to assess condensation issues
I consulted for a brand that selected beautiful amber PET bottles purely for aesthetics. Their stability testing was only done at controlled room temperature in their climate-controlled lab. Everything looked perfect. Six months after launch, they got absolutely destroyed with returns from Florida and Texas-the gummies had absorbed moisture and fused together.
Proper accelerated humidity testing would have caught this issue before commercialization and saved them hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses, not to mention the brand reputation damage.
One Size Doesn't Fit All Climates
Sophisticated manufacturers don't use identical packaging for all markets. Here's why:
Humid climates (Southeast US, coastal areas, tropics):
- Lower MVTR containers are essential
- Increased desiccant (1.5-2x standard amounts)
- White or light-colored bottles to reduce heat absorption
- Consider shorter shelf life claims (18 vs. 24 months)
Arid climates (Southwest US, mountain regions):
- Slightly higher MVTR is acceptable
- Moderate desiccant to avoid over-drying