Functional confectionery products: Ingredient innovations, health outcomes, consumer perceptions, and future prospects

Functional confectionery has emerged as a novel segment within the functional foods domain. This fact is driven by increasing consumer demand for products that combine sensory pleasure with potential health benefits. Traditionally confectionery products were being regarded as nutritionally poor due to high sugar and fat content but are now being reformulated to act as carriers of bioactive compounds. The research and development focus in this domain is multidimensional, with the sole idea to make consumers trust the product and provide health benefits in parallel. This review work provides a detailed analysis of developments in functional confectionery by systematically examining its classification based on product matrices, the range of functional ingredients that are being utilized, associated health benefit claims, recent technological advancements, consumer perception, and market trends.