Gummy packaging: humidity control and child-resistant pouches
Gummies fail in two ways: they take on moisture and sweat or fuse together, or they lose it and go hard, so the package needs a real moisture barrier and a zipper that seals properly every time it is closed. For candy, vitamin and supplement gummies we use the gummy pouch on a matte barrier laminate, from 500 units in 8 to 10 business days. For THC, CBD or hemp edibles sold where the state requires child-resistant packaging, use the child resistant mylar bag, built around a zipper tested to 16 CFR 1700.20, from 200 units.
Tria makes flexible pouches and the cartons that go around jars. We do not make HDPE jars, glass jars or rigid drams. If your gummies are going into a jar from your jar supplier, we can make the carton it ships and sells in, such as the CBD box, which is sized for a gummy jar. Everything else on this page is about pouches.
Why gummies go wrong in the package
Gummies are mostly sugar and gelling agent, and sugar pulls water out of humid air. In a weak film or a pouch whose zipper does not close fully, gummies pick up moisture, the sugar coating dissolves, and a week later the customer opens a single lump. In a dry warehouse the opposite happens and they firm up. Vitamin gummies add a third problem: some vitamins break down with oxygen and light, so the film has to block those too.
Heat makes all of it worse. A pouch that rides in a hot delivery van in July can soften gummies enough that they fuse even in a perfect barrier. Packaging cannot fix that, but a coated or sanded gummy and a pouch with a little headspace give you more room for error.
Which Tria pouch for which gummy
| Pouch | Film | Closure | Minimum and lead time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gummy pouch | Matte barrier laminate, moisture and grease resistant | Press-to-close zipper; CR zipper on request | 500 units, 8 to 10 business days | Candy, vitamin and supplement gummies |
| Child resistant mylar bag | Metallized barrier laminate, opaque or with a window | CR press zipper tested to 16 CFR 1700.20 | 200 units, 10 to 14 business days | THC, CBD and hemp edibles where CR is required |
| Supplement pouch | Foil laminate | Resealable zipper and tear notch | 200 units, 10 to 14 business days | Vitamin gummies that need the strongest light and oxygen barrier |
| Smell proof mylar bag | Foil laminate | Standard or CR zipper | 200 units, 10 to 14 business days | Strongly flavored or aromatic edibles |
Our view: if the gummy is a vitamin or supplement and the brand can live with an opaque pack, the foil laminate supplement pouch is the safer barrier. The matte barrier laminate gummy pouch is a good everyday choice for candy and for products that sell through quickly. A clear window sells the product, but it is the weakest point in the barrier and it lets light in, so keep it small on vitamin gummies and leave it off entirely where a state requires opaque packaging.
Fill size and headspace
The gummy pouch sizes we run are a 4 by 6 inch flat pouch for a 2 to 3 ounce fill and a 5 by 8 by 3 inch stand-up for a 6 to 8 ounce fill. Send us your fill weight and a few sample gummies and we size the pouch so the zipper sits clear of the product. A zipper that has gummies pressed against it on the inside does not close fully, and a zipper that does not close is the most common reason a good film fails.
When gummies need child-resistant packaging
This is packaging guidance, not legal advice. The rules below are the ones we see most often; confirm your own with your regulator or counsel.
Iron supplements. Under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act regulations, a dietary supplement containing the equivalent of 250 mg or more of elemental iron in a single package, above set concentrations, must be in child-resistant special packaging (16 CFR 1700.14(a)(13)). Separately, FDA requires an accidental overdose warning on iron-containing supplements in solid oral dosage form, set off in a hairline box (21 CFR 101.17(e)). Count the iron in the whole pouch, not per gummy.
Cannabis edibles. These follow state rules. California, for example, requires lifetime child resistance for edibles, meaning the package stays child resistant after it is opened and resealed, and requires edibles to be in opaque packaging with no picture of the product. That is the job the CR zipper on our child resistant mylar bag is built for.
CBD and hemp gummies. FDA's position is that CBD cannot be sold as a dietary supplement or added to food, so CBD gummies are governed mostly by state hemp rules, many of which ask for child-resistant packaging on edibles. The federal definition of hemp is also changing: under Public Law 119-37 as amended by H.R. 6500, finished products with more than 0.4 mg of total THC per container stop counting as hemp from December 11, 2026. For a gummy line that is a formulation question before it is a packaging one.
A child-resistant zipper only counts if the zipper and film combination you order is the one that was tested. The test documentation for our CR zipper is available on request and names that combination.
An illustrative spec
Illustrative spec, not a client order. A vitamin brand launching a 60 count elderberry gummy at about 5 ounces: foil laminate supplement pouch, stand-up, matte, with a resealable zipper and tear notch, no window, the Supplement Facts panel and directions on the back, and a small "keep cool" line near the zipper. 1,000 pouches, 10 to 14 business days after proof. If the same brand adds an iron gummy, we would move that SKU to the child resistant mylar bag and reserve a boxed panel for the iron warning.
Sources
- 16 CFR 1700.14(a)(13), iron supplements requiring special packaging (eCFR)
- 21 CFR 101.17(e), iron overdose warning statement (eCFR)
- 16 CFR 1700.20, child-resistant testing procedure (eCFR)
- California Department of Cannabis Control, child-resistant packaging guidance
- California Department of Cannabis Control, edible labeling and opaque packaging
- FDA, regulation of cannabis and cannabis-derived products including CBD
- H.R. 6500, hemp definition timing (Congress.gov)
Rules checked against these sources on October 5, 2026. Regulations change; check the current text before you print.
Questions people ask
Why do my gummies stick together in the pouch?
Usually moisture. Sugar pulls water from humid air, so a film without enough barrier, or a zipper that does not close fully, lets gummies sweat and fuse. Heat in transit makes it worse. Use a barrier laminate, size the pouch so the zipper sits clear of the product, and consider a coated or sanded gummy for summer shipping.
Should I choose the gummy pouch or the child resistant mylar bag?
Choose the gummy pouch for candy, vitamin or supplement gummies where child resistance is not required; it is a matte barrier laminate from 500 units in 8 to 10 business days. Choose the child resistant mylar bag for THC, CBD or hemp edibles sold where the state requires child-resistant packaging; it is built around a tested CR zipper from 200 units in 10 to 14 business days.
Do iron gummies need child-resistant packaging?
If the package holds the equivalent of 250 mg or more of elemental iron and meets the concentration thresholds in 16 CFR 1700.14(a)(13), yes. Iron supplements in solid oral dosage form also need FDA's accidental overdose warning in a hairline box under 21 CFR 101.17(e). Confirm with your regulatory adviser.
Can I have a clear window on a gummy pouch?
Yes on the gummy pouch and on the child resistant mylar bag where your state allows it. A window is the weakest part of the barrier and lets light in, so keep it small on vitamin gummies and leave it out where a state requires opaque packaging for edibles.
Does Tria make gummy jars or bottles?
No. We make pouches, and cartons sized to the jar or bottle you buy from your container supplier. If your gummies are in a jar, the CBD box or a supplement carton can be sized to fit it.