Bright futures: GNT to showcase plant-based potential in coloring foods

13 Jan 2020 --- With more focus on the beauty of food, often inspired by celebrity chefs, food bloggers and social media influencers, there is a growing role for more colorful food and beverage products. In light of this, GNT will highlight how its Exberry Coloring Foods can help confectionery and snack manufacturers to meet the increasing demand for plant-based products at ProSweets Cologne 2020 (2-5 February).

Innova Market Insights indicates that the top color for food and beverage launches featuring colorings in both North America and Europe were red and brown, the fastest growing options over the 2014 to 2018 period were red and yellow in North America, and orange and purple in Europe.

The rise of social media and consumers’ increasing interest for clean label products have created the perfect storm for the proliferation of the natural colors trend, which is leading to the gradual phase out of artificial colors. Platforms such as Instagram have given the appearance – specifically color – of food extra gravity and industry is making strides to optimize their offerings targeting planet-aware consumers living and eating in an “Instagrammable” world.

In this space, consumer appetite for artificial food dyes is waning, motivating more formulators to switch out artificial dyes for farm-grown “coloring foods.” Vibrant and shelf-stable plant-based food pigments are in high demand this year, with significant attention paid to eye-catching shades that tick both clean label and sustainable boxes. The expansion of the plant-based meat space, meanwhile, is opening up broader applications for natural colors.

“Our Exberry Coloring Foods are a perfect solution for plant-based products, and with more than 400 shades to choose from the creative possibilities are endless,” says Petra Thiele, Managing Director for GNT Europa GmbH.

At ProSweets Cologne, GNT will highlight Shades of Aqua, its key food and beverage color trend for 2020. Part of the Love Color initiative, it will see vivid blues and greens driving innovation and providing various possibilities to create “Instagrammable” products that stand out of the crowd.

“In the past, artificial colors have had negative associations, but with our natural shades of aqua, a story can be told and that story is that we are only using water to process the raw materials,” Maartje Hendrickx, GNT’s Market Development Manager, told FoodIngredientsFirst at Fi Europe 2019 in Paris, last month. 

The company will also offer a range of ways to experience Exberry Coloring Foods. Visitors will be given the chance to sample confectionery-based “sushi” and to discover the color strength of Exberry by adding different shades into plant-based yogurt.

Also last month, FoodIngredientsFirst reported that Hendrickx noted that the use of social media platforms such as Instagram has led consumers to seek more adventurous choices. This has also led to a shift of sensory emphasis. “Now, it is not so much about the taste, but it is much more about the color and the look and feel of the products we see on social media platforms,” she adds. 

Edited by Elizabeth Green