The sugar confectionery market faces challenges from shifting consumer preferences and increasing health-consciousness, shaping demand. To stay relevant, sugar confectionery brands will have to deliver unique experiences and address health concerns.
While children remain a key audience, rising parental scrutiny creates both challenges and opportunities for healthier candy innovations. This report explores these dynamics, including generational differences in parental attitudes.
Formats such as chewing gum, mints and lozenges hold significant untapped potential by catering to consumers’ growing health demands that extend beyond traditional sore throat relief and oral care. Additionally, this report also covers India’s growing experimental outlook, highlighting the need for bold, innovative flavours to drive interest and trials in sugar confectionery.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Consumption and its frequency for various types of sugar and gum confectionery over the past three months
- Features that can encourage parents to purchase candies for their children (aged 4-12)
- Health benefits consumers seek in chewing gums, mints and lozenges
- Flavour innovations that captivate interest in sugar and gum confectionery
- Three major macro trends shaping the sugar and gum confectionery market in India
Unlock growth opportunities by embracing evolving consumer needs: capitalise on the children’s candy whitespace and deliver flavour and better-for-you innovations.
Tulsi Joshi, Principal Food & Drink Market Research Analyst, India
Market Definitions
This report examines the India’s market for sugar confectionery (including mints, medicated/non-medicated lozenges) and gum. Mintel’s definition includes products sold through the retail channel, including:
- soft confectionery (such as jellies, gummies, pastilles)
- standard and power mints
- hard confectionery (such as boiled sweets, toffees, caramels)
- chewing gum and bubble gum
- other confectionery (such as marshmallows and lollipops).
- excludes: chocolate confectionery
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Mintel’s perspective
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Overview
- Tap into children’s candies by tailoring innovations as per parental generational priorities
- Tailor candy innovation strategies to cater to the preferences of each generation of parents
- Explore the BFY opportunity in gums, mints and lozenges: go beyond traditional sore throat/cough relief
- Graph 1: % of launches with select claim in gums, mints and lozenges, 2020-25
- Add an exciting and adventurous twist to sugar confectionery with flavour innovations
- Graph 2: flavours of interest in sugar confectionery, by gender, 2025
- Mintel predicts
- The outlook of sugar & gum confectionery in India
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KEY TRENDS AND MARKET FACTORS
- What you need to know
- Sugar is the new villain in town
- Diabesity: the rising epidemic affecting Indians
- Graph 3: no. of adults (in millions) with (or estimated to have) diabetes, 2000-50
- Aversion alert: brands are embracing India’s sweet decline
- Graph 4: % of launches with low/reduced sugar claim in food and drinks, 2020-25
- Graph 5: % of consumers* who chose ‘low in sugar content’ as one of their top three factors when shopping for food, 2021-25
- Indians are increasingly seeking low-sugar indulgence
- What’s coming up: GLP-1 weight-loss medications set to launch in India
- Parents’ food radar intensifies
- Globally, parents are dedicated to making informed choices for their babies
- Increased access to information and resources drives vigilant shopping among parents
- The ‘Label Padhega India’ initiative is set to raise awareness about the contents of packaged foods
- The sugar content in Indian baby foods has come under the scanner in recent times
- Winning over Indian parents is all about balancing nutrition, clean labels and taste
- Graph 6: top five factors considered most important when choosing food/drink products for kids, 2024
- Rise in food and drink experimentalism
- Consumers see value in embracing new experiences
- Graph 7: extent of agreement with the selected statement, 2025
- Consumer desire for novel experiences sets expectations for innovations
- Global sugar confectionery brands are getting adventurous with flavours…
- … and multi-sensory innovations
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WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY
- What you need to know
- Candies lead the sugar & gum confectionery market, followed by mints/gums
- Graph 8: consumption of candies and chewing gums in the last three months, 2025
- Graph 9: consumption of candies, chewing gums and lozenges in the last three months, 2025
- Toffees, caramels and nougats lead in popularity
- Graph 10: consumption of candies and chewing gums in the last three months, 2025
- Chewing gums are the most frequently consumed confectionery
- Graph 11: frequency of consuming candies and chewing gums in the last three months, 2024
- Status quo: toffees,caramel and nougat launches are losing steam, mints, gums and jellies are powering up
- Graph 12: total share of launches in candy, gum and other confectionery, by sub-categories, 2020-25
- The candyland opportunity
- Untapped sweet spot for candies: target the next gen (and their guardians)
- Graph 13: top 10 markets of candy* launches with select claim, 2020-25
- Win parents, win kids: lead with lower sugar, natural ingredients and indulgent texture
- Graph 14: features to encourage candy purchases among parents for their children (aged 4-12), 2025
- Draw inspirationfrom Double ‘D’ Smart Sweets to innovate in candies for children
- Gen Z parents seek BFY candy whereas Younger Millennial parents favour indulgence in children’s candies
- Graph 15: features in candies for driving purchase among parents for their child/children, by generation and their children’s age, 2025
- Tailor candy innovation strategies to cater to the preferences of each generation of parents
- Lower sugar is a white space in India; take inspiration from global counterparts
- Graph 16: % of launches with low/reduced sugar claim in candies,2020-25
- Graph 17: % of launches with low/reduced sugar claim in candies, 2020-25
- Cut the sugar, raise the bar
- Natural in demand, but ‘no nasties’ continues to reign
- Graph 18: select features to encourage candy purchases among parents for their children (aged 4-12), 2025
- Graph 19: % of launches with select natural claims in candies, 2020-25
- The natural shift: brands embrace natural claims, but ‘all-natural’ is still a niche play
- Graph 20: % of launches with select natural claims in candies, 2020-25
- Unlock the all-natural power
- Target children with innovative candies in exciting new shapes
- Captivate children’s attention with play candies
- Big candies, bigger indulgence
- Mintel Spark crafts candies that delight kids and reassure parents
- Reinvigorate sugar confectionery with novelty textures
- Texture novelty can shape the future of candies in India
- Unusual textures can offer opportunities to appeal to children
- What’s next: replicate textures of popular and familiar food and drinks
- BFY opportunity in gums, lozenges and mints
- Gums, lozenges and mints are surfing up the health wave
- Graph 21: % of launches with select functional health claims in guns, mints and lozenges, 2020-25
- Graph 22: % of launches with select claim in gum, lozenges and mints, 2020-25
- Prioritise mental and physical energy, soothing sore throats and relieving coughs
- Graph 23: health benefits of interest in chewing gums, mints and lozenges, by select consumer segments, 2025
- Give an instant energy boost to mints, chewing gums and lozenges
- Offer a combined boost to physical and mental energy
- Focus on enhancing focus
- What’s next for sore throat and cough relief?
- Spark flavour innovations in sugar confectionery
- Flavour novelty can drive excitement in sugar confectionery
- Graph 24: select frequency to look for new food/new flavours to try, 2023-25
- Fruit flavours dominate sugar confectionery launches
- Graph 25: sugar confectionery launches, by top five flavour component subgroups, 2020-25
- Status quo: flavourscape of sugar and gum confectionery in India
- Hit the sweet spot: combine sweet flavours with salty or sour
- Graph 26: flavours of interest in sugar confectionery, 2025
- Tempt women with flavours that pair sour or salty with sweet
- Graph 27: select flavour of interest in candies and gums, by select gender and age, 2025
- Graph 28: flavours of interest in chewing gums and candies, by gender, 2025
- Give a sour twist to sweet flavours
- Add a salty whisper to a sweet flavour symphony
- Leverage intense sour flavours to bring an adventurous edge to candies
- Launch alert: Dare Drop innovates with lollipops for customising sour intensity
- Other innovations from Dare Drop that focus on customising tangy flavour in candies
- Chewing gums and mints can add a local, healthy note with herbal/ayurvedic and spice flavours
- Graph 29: select flavour of interest in candies and gums, by select consumer segments, 2025
- Graph 30: select flavours of interest in candies and chewing gums, by select consumer segment, 2025
- Infuse healthful herbal/ayurvedic and spice flavours in chewing gums and mints
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APPENDIX
- Report definition
- Consumer survey methodology
- TURF analysis
- Flavourscape of sugar and gum confectionery in India
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