Vitamin C + Pop Rocks = 🤯

Vitamin C + Pop Rocks = 🤯

There’s still a surprising amount of opportunity in supplements sitting in plain sight in your local candy aisle.

The category isn’t short on products, it’s short on new experiences. Over the past few years, most new products in vitamins and supplements have meant new claims wrapped in the same handful of formats: Gummies, suckers, chews, different flavors, different brand positioning with similar rituals.

That’s why Emergen-C Crystals stopped me.

I came across them during a Target store check that then took me into Big Top Candy Shop in Austin, looking at candy formats that could be brought into the future. Emergen-C Crystals are essentially Pop Rocks with Vitamin C. No water required. Straight to the mouth. Fizzy, convenient, portable, immediate, playful.

It’s a simple idea that isn’t just another flavor extension or a clean-label refresh. It’s rooted in well-known behavior. You don’t need instructions or education to understand it. The experience is instantly legible.

That’s a smarter move than trying to win a shouting match in a gummy aisle that’s nearly maxed out. There are plenty of well-known, once-loved candy formats that already live in people’s muscle memory and feel ready for a modern rethink.

Candy-style formats solve a lot of hard problems that supplements still struggle with. Like texture, pacing, ritual, anticipation, and reward. These are emotional and sensory cues that shape behavior, not just taste preferences.

What makes this especially interesting is who it’s coming from. Emergen-C is an older brand in a category that has exploded with newer players, sharper positioning, and more niche rituals. Many consumers have moved on. Instead of chasing those brands head-on, Emergen-C sidestepped the fight entirely.

New form factor. New moment. New reason to look again.

The question is, is there a hard limit to what consumers are willing to see as “healthy enough”? Or were those products never positioned or designed in a way that felt modern, intentional, and credible? My bet is the latter.

A few formats that feel particularly aligned with today’s consumer:

Pixy Sticks - Imagine the powder as a multivitamin. Tear, pour, done. One clean motion.

Taffy - A slower chew that signals this is deliberate, not mindless.

Jelly Beans - Small doses, controlled consumption, and strong emotional associations. Similar to Jelly Belly Sport Beans, but reimagined for a broader, vitamin focused use case.

Jawbreakers - Thirty licks a day gets you your daily zinc and vitamin D during cold and flu season. Slightly ridiculous, highly memorable.

Gushers - A functional core inside a familiar shell. Same delight, new job to do.

What candy do you think could be the next supplement carrier?