#054: Krik Angacian - CandyCan Makes Gummies Functional and Healthy

On October 18th, 2021, we interviewed Krik Angacian, co-founder and CEO of CandyCan, about his new “functional candy” gummy snacks. Before founding CandyCan, Krik also co-founded Protes, a company that was well-known for its delicious protein chips.

We talked to Krik about how he transitioned from investment banking to the food industry, how the process of building companies differs from buying and selling them, and what he’s learned about the unique challenges of gummy production when it comes to both formulation and ingredient stability.

What is “Functional Candy?”

According to Krik, CandyCan is trying to fill a space somewhere between ordinary food and traditional supplements. In an industry whose marketing is skewed so heavily towards bodybuilders and high-performing athletes, Krik sees an opportunity to market beneficial supplements that can also capture the attention of more ordinary, non-athletic consumers: people who aren’t trying to push the limits of their bodies, but just want something a little healthier and more useful than ordinary snack food.

Krik got this idea one day when he got caught by his co-founder eating multivitamin gummies like snack food, and realized that the deliciousness of the gummy form factor would always leave consumers wanting more than just one or two gummies. That’s why CandyCan is pairing up with one of North America’s top gummy manufacturers to launch a range of enriching gummy products, including Immunity, which is due to be released towards the end of 2021.

Krik also talks us through the state of industry regulations and processing, and some of the challenges that came with formulating Immunity and other gummy products, including:

I don’t want to sell snake oil… anything I put out, I wanna make sure it stays stable in a gummy.

— Krik Angacian, CandyCan

• How do you get a gummy with turmeric and black pepper to taste sweet and sour?
• How do you keep more fragile ingredients from “cooking out” during production?
• How do you ensure that the bioavailability of ingredients is high?
• How do you find a good gummy production line?

Launching efficacious products is Krik’s top priority. “I don’t want to sell snake oil… anything I put out, I wanna make sure it stays stable in a gummy.”

Business Philosophy

Krik tries to stay humble in his role as co-founder and CEO, freely admitting that he was caught off guard by the challenges of building a company from scratch, and that he doesn’t know everything. In his words, “I’ve been working out for about 17 years… but I’m still learning.” Ben talks to Krik about the central role of authenticity in branding, and how awesome it is that CandyCan’s brand aligns with who Krik really is as a person.

In the middle of the show, Mike also provides his review (since Ben’s will be embedded below when it’s live), and is extremely bullish on both Krik and CandyCan.