A juice-filled fruit snack and a method of manufacturing thereof in which the fruit snack has a gelled shell and a liquid center with a water binder in an amount sufficient to bind the water content of the liquid center to prevent the liquid center from leaking out of the gelled shell, and the amount of the water binder is lower than an amount that otherwise causes the liquid center to substantially increase in thickness or viscosity. The water binder is between 0.05 to 0.4% xanthan gum.
