Azuca Challenges Nano Buzzword in Cannabis Gummy Performance Study

NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Azuca, an award-winning applied bioscience company, has challenged the cannabis industry's reliance on particle size as a proxy for gummy performance. The white paper sorts key performance factors into a framework built on four pillars: consumer experience, product quality, manufacturing performance, and scientific validation.

According to Azuca, the term "nano" has become a buzzword in the industry, but it does not provide a comprehensive picture of a gummy's performance. The company's research, which includes head-to-head gummy testing and clinical, preclinical, and real-world studies, found that Azuca's TiME INFUSION® technology outperformed nano-emulsions in several key areas. In a blind taste test, an independent panel rated the Azuca gummy higher on taste, texture, overall liking, and purchase intent. Additionally, participants reported that the Azuca gummy delivered effects closer to those of inhaled flower.

Azuca's TiME INFUSION® encapsulates individual cannabinoid molecules within structures that have a hydrophilic, water-friendly exterior. This approach eliminates the emulsion interface and the surfactants needed to maintain it, preserving taste, recipe integrity, production efficiency, and shelf-life performance. In contrast, conventional nano-emulsions suspend clusters of molecules together in droplets, which can introduce bitterness or off-notes and require specialized equipment during manufacturing.

Ron Silver, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Azuca, emphasized that the focus should be on the finished product's performance rather than a single technical specification.

The white paper is available for manufacturers, formulators, and cannabis industry professionals interested in evaluating edible infusion systems using a finished-product performance framework. Azuca's TiME INFUSION® technology is designed to help brands create differentiated edible and beverage products with superior taste and predictable product performance.

The paper argues that particle size is just one characteristic of an infusion system and does not account for the full range of factors that influence a gummy's performance. For instance, water activity, solids balance, drying time, and texture can be affected by the form the infusion arrives in. Emulsions rely on surfactants to remain stable, which can contribute bitterness or off-notes, creating additional formulation work around taste. Additionally, gummies are acidic, high-solids, heated systems, and emulsions that are stable in water can coalesce, cream, or ripen under those conditions. The number on an emulsion spec sheet describes the droplet in the bottle, not what is retained in the gummy.

Furthermore, particle size is measured at the supplier, while potency loss, seepage, and texture drift can emerge months later during transportation, warehousing, packaging, and retail. Nano-emulsions can require high-shear equipment, high-pressure homogenizers, microfluidizers, or sonicators that most gummy manufacturers do not own, adding operational complexity and affecting yield, throughput, and drying time.

The point is not that nano-emulsions are unsophisticated. It is that gummies demand more than a small particle. Performance has to survive the recipe, the process, the shelf life, and ultimately, the consumer. The head-to-head gummy results sit within a broader body of TiME INFUSION® research that includes human pharmacokinetic data, preclinical studies, and real-world consumer findings. TiME INFUSION® encapsulates individual cannabinoid molecules within structures that have a hydrophilic, water-friendly exterior, while conventional nano-emulsions suspend clusters of molecules together in droplets. By eliminating the emulsion interface, and the surfactants needed to hold it together, TiME INFUSION® helps manufacturers preserve taste, recipe integrity, production efficiency, and shelf-life performance in the finished gummy.

The full white paper is available here for manufacturers, formulators, and cannabis industry professionals interested in evaluating edible infusion systems using a finished-product performance framework. Additional data can be found here.