Meet the Candy Veterans Behind a1®: China's Confectionery Pioneers Enter the Health-Gummy Market
Meet the Candy Veterans Behind a1®: China's Confectionery Pioneers Enter the Health-Gummy Market
For distributors, importers, supermarket chains and private-label buyers: why a brand-new gummy line from a1® — led by two of China's most experienced candy professionals — deserves a place on your shelf.
The Story Every Candy Buyer Should Hear
Candy is one of the hardest categories to win on any retail shelf. Flavor must be exact, texture consistent, shelf life dependable — and every batch must clear the food-safety bar that importers and retailers enforce. Most buyers source from factories that make candy. Far fewer get to work with a supplier whose leadership built a candy category from zero.
That is the a1® difference. Behind our new gummy line stand two men whose careers were forged in the golden era of China's candy industry: founder Zhou Weiping and co-founder & CPO Zhong Shanliang. Between them lies more than four decades of experience turning sugar, flavor and supply chains into products that sell — and, more importantly, into products people trust.
Two Careers Forged in China's Candy Industry
Before a1® existed, there was Yake — one of the most storied names in Chinese confectionery. In 2003, Yake launched Yake V9, a vitamin-fortified candy that did not simply become a bestseller; it created a category. Until then, "vitamin candy" barely existed in the Chinese market. Within a year, the product made confectionery history: a single launch event generated orders of RMB 230 million with RMB 67 million paid on the spot — still remembered as one of the most successful single-SKU launches in China's candy industry. Backed by national advertising and a star endorsement, Yake V9 became the name consumers automatically associated with vitamin candy.
The two men who now lead a1®'s product and supply chain were both in the room for that era.
The Founder: Zhou Weiping — The Marketer Who Built a Category
Zhou Weiping has spent more than 20 years in the food industry. Before founding a1®, he served as Vice President and Marketing General Manager at several of China's largest food groups — Yake, Fuma Group and Xuerong Bio — where he built the campaigns behind landmark products including Yake V9 (the vitamin-candy pioneer), "Aishang Fei Cake" and "Xuerong Ecological Mushroom". Industry observers have long called him one of the most influential food marketers of his generation.
In 2016, Zhou founded a1® Snack Lab in Xiamen with a simple conviction: build snacks he would be proud to put on his own family's table. That founding principle — "born for family" — is not a slogan. It is the standard applied to every ingredient, every recipe and every batch that leaves our factories. The same discipline that made Yake V9 a national phenomenon now governs the candy we make: taste that sells, quality that can be trusted.
The R&D & Supply Chain Brain: Zhong Shanliang, CPO
If Zhou is the strategist, Zhong Shanliang is the engineer of taste and supply. Zhong has worked alongside Zhou for more than a decade and entered the food industry in the early 2000s. He served as Product Director and later Marketing Director at Yake (China) Food, and as Marketing Director at Frog Prince, one of China's best-known children's brands. At the peak of his career in product management, Zhong coordinated a portfolio of more than 1,000 products.
Today, as a1®'s Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Zhong leads product development, R&D and the supply chain behind every a1® line. His brief is simple to state and hard to execute: turn a consumer insight into a product that tastes right, looks irresistible, and can be produced at scale without ever compromising on quality. It is the reason a1® can point to a proven record of hit-making — from Watermelon Toast and Banana Bread to Panda Cake — and the same rigor now shapes our entry into candy.
A Company Built on Trust: a1® Snack Lab
Founded in 2016, a1® Snack Lab has grown into one of China's most dynamic snack manufacturers. The company spans seven major categories and more than 500 product items, serving more than 600,000 retail touchpoints nationwide and a base of over two million paying members, with customers including Sam's Club, 7-Eleven, Lawson, FamilyMart, Yonghui and other major retail networks.
R&D is where the story comes alive:
1.Annual R&D investment of no less than 5% of revenue, with cumulative investment exceeding RMB 100 million.
- 2.Three research centers and two experimental production lines, supported by partnerships with top academic institutions including Jiangnan University and Jimei University.
- 3.More than 200 technology patents, and recognition including consecutive iTQi International Superior Taste Award honors.
Manufacturing is built for export: four major production bases with eight large-scale production lines, capable of producing 200 tons of bread and 80 tons of cake per day. Our Dezhou Superfactory — an investment of RMB 1.68 billion spanning 424,617 square meters — is built to produce 450,000 tons of snacks annually. Our facilities hold BRC, FSSC22000, HACCP, US FDA registration, BSCI and Halal certifications, a compliance stack that lets importers and retailers bring a1® products to market with confidence.
Now Entering Candy the Right Way: a1 Health Gummy
After a decade of building trust in snacks, a1® is entering the candy category — not with a me-too line, but with a complete health-gummy range designed around the trends that are actually driving global candy growth. Health, functionality and scenario-based consumption are redefining the market: gummies grew 12.4% year-on-year in 2025 — 2.4× the growth rate of the overall candy market — and the global functional-gummy market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.8% from 2026 to 2035, reaching US$3 billion by 2035. Women aged 18–35 account for 59% of gummy consumption, and women's health gummies are growing at a 30% CAGR.
Our first candy launch — a1 Health Gummy — turns "snacking into nutrition supplementation" with a full-family, all-scenario product matrix. Every gummy is bear-shaped, fruit-juice based and packed at 180g per bag in individual inner pouches plus a stand-up pouch, with a 12-month shelf life:
- 1.Collagen Peptide Bear Juice Gummies — skin & oral beauty, 10mg/g collagen peptide, strawberry.
- 2.Bear Juice Gummies (GABA) — stress relief & sleep support, 1mg/g GABA, grape.
- 3.Acerola Cherry Juice Gummies (Natural Vitamin C) — immunity, 30mg vitamin C per serving, low-sugar pectin formula, vegan-friendly, orange.
- 4.Lutein Ester + DHA Juice Gummies — all-in-one eye care, 8mg lutein ester with DHA algae oil & zeaxanthin.
- 5.Zinc-Enriched Grape Juice Gummies — appetite & immunity for kids, natural yeast zinc, grape.
- 6.Calcium Strawberry Juice Gummies — bone health, natural milk mineral calcium plus vitamin C, strawberry.
Packaging forms and specifications are customizable by channel, and all SKUs are available for wholesale, OEM and private label.
Why Distributors Choose a1® for Gummies
- ✅ A leadership team that built a candy category — not just a factory that fills orders.
- ✅ An R&D engine with a documented record of hit products, now applied to candy.
- ✅ A trend-right, whole-family functional gummy line designed for global markets.
- ✅ Massive, certified manufacturing capacity for stable, container-ready supply.
- ✅ Full export documentation and compliance support, plus OEM/private-label flexibility at factory-direct prices.
When you partner with a1®, you are not just buying gummies. You are buying the judgment, the taste and the supply-chain discipline of two of China's most experienced confectionery professionals — and a company built on the idea that the best food is food you would serve your own family.
Start Your Inquiry Today
a1 (Xiamen) Food Technology Co., Ltd.
- Email: Justin@a1food.cn
- Website: https://en.a1food.cn
- Tel / WeChat / WhatsApp: +86-18965482111
Whether you are a distributor, importer or supermarket chain looking to add a reliable, differentiated gummy line — we'd love to talk.
