Miami's First 3D Candy Printer Coming to Dylan's Candy Bar

Imagine a machine that generates colorful pieces of gummy candy with the press of a button. No, this isn't a new episode of Futurama. On June 1, Dylan's Candy Bar will unveil an innovative 3D printing technology, transforming a few key commands into customized treats. 

Thanks to Dylan's Candy Bar, along with UK-based Katjes Magic Candy Factory, the first 3D candy printer is hitting Miami Beach this summer. Billed as the only safe 3D food printer on the market, the machine can whip up custom candy creations in less than five minutes. 

"We are so excited to bring our 3D printed confections to the USA," Magic Candy Factory's Melissa Snover says about the partnership with Dylan's Candy Bar. “Their incredible experimental retail environment and customer-comes-first service make them the absolute perfect fit for the magical innovation we developed.”

Creating a gummy is simple. After a few seconds of staring in awe at the clear-boxed candy printer, prepare to snap yourself out of it and start designing. Pick a color, flavor, shape, and finishing combination. You can use one of 20 premade designs or create your own with personalized text or images. Then wait between five to ten minutes. Printing candy isn't cheap, though. Each piece is priced at a flat rate of $20.
Choose from eight colors and various flavor combinations, including "sublime strawberry" and "beautiful blackcurrant." Add “magic” finishing touches such as glitter, sour, or fizzy “dust.” Customers can expect additional extras to come, based on seasons, cultures, and locations.

All gummies are vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free. Instead of being made with gelatin, the candies are created with a blend of natural fruit and vegetable extracts, creating a healthier version of a traditional sugary gummy.
The candy-making contraption is based on fused deposition modeling — called FDM — which is a technique used in 3D printing. The machine heats a gummy's ingredients and then uses an electric nozzle to create different shape combinations based on the user's preferences. The shape a customer chooses is converted into a special list of coded instructions for the candy printer. Customers only interact with an user-friendly tablet in-store, which then alerts the printer where, at what speed, and what frequency to apply each of the gummy's layers. The process takes about ten minutes from beginning to end, with three to five minutes for printing time.

Experience Dylan Candy Bar's 3D printer beginning Wednesday, June 1, at the Lincoln Road location, or try it online at dylanscandybar.com. 

Follow Clarissa Buch on Instagram and Twitter.