Candy applications
Hard candy manufacturing technologies
Coperion offers fully integrated hard candy production systems designed to deliver precise dosing, fast changeovers, and hygienic processing. Our advanced technology ensures consistent quality and efficiency for hard candies used in food, health, and pharmaceutical industries.
Starch-free solutions for hard candy manufacturing
Hard candies, including varieties such as single-flavor, striped, layered, filled, and multi-color candies, are produced efficiently using advanced depositing and forming technology, the industry-standard method for high-quality hard candy.
Coperion’s advanced equipment ensures precise control over candy size, shape, color, and flavor, supporting both traditional and innovative recipes.
From classic solid candies to multi-layered or filled designs, our integrated lines provide consistent quality and smooth scalability from lab trials to full production. For enhanced product appeal, candies can incorporate inclusions such as toffee, fruit bits, or other confectionery elements, and feature vibrant color and flavor combinations.
The technology brands behind our hard candy solutions
Examples of innovative hard candy applications
Bring to the market a new generation of exciting hard candies. From solid to filled, striped or smooth, clear or translucent enrobing, with or without inclusions, in fruity or indulgent milky flavors, our versatile concepts are crafted to excite today’s confectionery fans. And with recipe and process support from our global Test Center teams, we help turn every idea into sweet reality.
Filled
Chocolate centre
Filled
Solid shapes
Filled
Two color centre fill
Layered
Two color long-term layered
Solid
Clear candy
Solid
Novelty shapes
Striped
Two colors
Filled
Hard centre
Filled
Striped with chocolate centre
Layered
Side by side
Layered
Two color short term layered
Solid
Clear candy with inclusions
Solid
with inclusions
Striped
Two color side by side
Filled
High volume centre
Filled
Striped with soft centre
Layered
Three color long-term layered
Medicated
Centre-filled candy
Solid
Fruit candy
Striped
Four colors
Filled
Soft centre
Filled
Striped with solid centre
Layered
Three color short term layered
Medicated
Hard candy
Solid
High milk candy
Striped
Three colors
How hard candy production works
(MIH systems)
Ingredient handling
Shick Esteve Bag dump stations provide a safe, dust-free way to manually add dry ingredients.
Liquid ingredients, such as glucose, are temporarily stored in our Shick Esteve Tank systems, or Tote systems, and then delivered through pumps.
Slurry preparation
The main mixing process takes place in the Baker Perkins Autofeed. Batches of dry and liquid ingredients are accurately weighed and blended then held in a reservoir tank to provide a continuous feed to the cooker. Full batch reporting is available.
Cooking
The cooking stage transforms raw ingredients into a precise sugar mass with the right moisture content and temperature for hard candy production. This step ensures consistency, flavor, and quality across both standard and sugar-free recipes.
For high output and specialty recipes, the Baker Perkins Microfilm™ cooker offers vacuum thin-film technology for rapid, gentle cooking of heat-sensitive ingredients.
For caramel-based products or recipes requiring pre-cooking, the Baker Perkins Carablend™ cooker as option provides precise, controlled cooking and consistent results.
All systems are designed for hygienic operation, consistent quality, and seamless integration with downstream forming equipment.
Depositing
Hard candies are shaped and formed using the Baker Perkins ServoForm™ candy depositor. The depositor accurately fills moulds with sugar mass from the cooking stage, producing perfectly shaped candies with smooth surfaces and consistent size and weight.
The system can handle solid, striped, layered, or filled hard candy designs. Integrated cooling tunnels set the candies to the correct texture, while optional handling units ensure hygienic, high-speed production.
Baker Perkins CFA Systems can be integrated for precise color/flavor dosing minimizing waste and enabling rapid product changeovers.
Cooling tunnel
Cooling & finishing
The final step in hard candy production is cooling and finishing. The Gabler Cooling tunnel lowers the temperature of freshly deposited hard candies, ensuring they set with the correct hardness, glossy surface, and stable shape.
Optional finishing equipment can include polishing, enrobing, or wrapping systems, preparing candies for packaging. These systems are designed for high-speed, consistent production while maintaining hygiene and minimizing manual handling.
See hard candy depositing in action
Discover how Coperion can enhance your hard candy production
Our starch-free hard candy line delivers precise ingredient handling, accurate depositing, integrated color and flavor addition, and hygienic stick insertion. It ensures consistent quality, faster changeovers, and the flexibility to create innovative hard candy varieties efficiently.
Related process technologies
Related confectionery applications
Get in touch
We take a distinctive approach to the processes that drive manufacturing. Let us know how we can help you achieve your goals for efficiency, productivity and safety.