Health care
BY KAREN CHANEY
ILS Gummies stretches to meet supplement manufacturing demand Although ILS Gummies produces 60 million nutraceutical gummies monthly in McKinney, the demand is over double that amount, company o cials said. A $6.5 million expansion project at the 70,000-square-foot facility began in 2024 and is slated for completion in July. “We were capped at space. Our demand right now is for about 150 million to 200 million gummies,” CEO Dru Riess said. “As soon as we’re done with this build out, we’ll be going to about 200 million gummies a month.” ILS Gummies was founded in McKinney in 2022 by Dallas-based Rosewood Private Investments, which is the private equity arm of the Rosewood Corporation, along with Riess and Chief Financial O cer Shane Davis.
What’s happening Riess explains nutraceutical gummies as being “active loaded confectionary goods.” Gummies manufactured most frequently by the company focus on gut health, beauty and greens. Other frequently requested health supplements include those for brain health, relaxation, energy, omega-3 and magnesium. Ingredients are sourced from around the world, including turmeric from India. “We are having a global impact on every econ- omy by sourcing ingredients, bottles, caps, molds and equipment,” Riess said. The speci cs All ILS gummies are pectin-based, which Riess explains is better for the digestive system. The products do not contain cane, corn or glucose syrup. “The most generic syrup we have in here is organic tapioca syrup. There’s constantly truck- loads of that coming in,” Riess said. “There’s also soluble tapioca ber syrup, which is a sugar-free version.”
The conditions A variety of brands of gummies are produced by ILS Gummies but formulas are not duplicated. “ILS [Gummies] was birthed out of wanting to give unique and di erentiated formulas to every customer,” Riess said. “You will not nd us running a long run of multi-vitamins and then pushing it into every brand that we do. Every brand has something unique.” Customers can also choose to have a custom mold or use the standard gumdrop mold, and customize the packaging, avors and more. The impact ILS Gummies operates 24/7 with three shifts of duplicated positions including quality team members, machinists, sanitation teams and more. Riess said he considers multiple factors when determining if ILS Gummies had a successful year. “Not all business owners look at it this way. Everyone’s usually like, ‘Let’s double sales, but let’s cut the people’,” Riess said. “That’s the last thing I look at. I really [ask] ‘Did we provide more jobs for that year?’”
Machines are steam-cleaned between batches to ensure no trace elements remain before the next batch begins.
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www.innovativegummies.com 350 Cypress Hill Drive, McKinney
Gummy formulas are customized for each brand produced at ILS Gummies.
PHOTOS BY KAREN CHANEY COMMUNITY IMPACT
LOWRY 4100 E US 380 (972) 540-2500
ALLEN 1839 N Central Expy (972) 908-3488
MCKINNEY 2900 W University Dr (214) 341-5487
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