Colors from nature: GNT leverages fruit and vegetables to formulate caramel color substitute for drinks

28 Feb 2024 --- GNT has unveiled a range of concentrates made from caramelized sugar syrup as natural substitutes to caramel (E150) color used in beverages. The colors — Exberry Shade Autumn Brown and Exberry Shade Golden Brown — are liquid-based and are created from edible, non-GMO fruit and vegetables.

The natural color range can help manufacturers impart reddish-brown and caramel-brown hues in low-pH still and carbonated soft drinks like natural colas, energy drinks and iced lattes while meeting consumers’ clean label demands.

“Manufacturers need brown shades for a huge range of beverages, from fruit drinks to carbonated soft drinks to iced lattes, but consumers want to trust that the colors are safe,” Maartje Hendrickx, market development manager, GNT Group, tells Food Ingredients First.

“They’re great for beverage manufacturers because they offer a clean label, plant-based solution that performs extremely well.”

She also highlights that the colors deliver clear shades, with no turbidity development and precipitation over time in beverages with a pH level below 3. 

Cloudy yellows and inky teals
The liquid-based colors are formulated using fruit and vegetables like carrots and apples and are suitable for vegan, Kosher and Halal diets, notes the company.

Maartje Hendrickx, market development manager, GNT Group (Image credit: GNT).“Our new brown range is created with physical processing methods – we don’t use any organic solvents to extract the color from the raw materials,” underscores Hendrickx.

The colors are formulated using traditional methods such as chopping, filtering and boiling – the same methods consumers use at home. 

She further highlights the rise in sustainable F&B innovations.

“We’re seeing that consumers of all ages are becoming more and more concerned with the health of the planet. As part of that, we’re starting to see a shift not only to more sustainable food and drink but toward an earthier palette that is inspired by the natural world.”

“Brown fits well with this emerging trend as it can deliver earthy, warm shades that are reassuring and comforting.”

She notes that other shades gaining more prominence include the rich reds of root vegetables, cloudy yellows and inky teals from heritage corn and spirulina.

The colors are also light and heat stable and are easy to pump and dose. 

“This is an important benefit because it allows manufacturers to use heat during processing and also supports storage stability, with no need for refrigeration or opaque packaging to protect the color,” explains Hendrickx.

Transparency and regulation
GNT’s color solution is marketed as being naturally free from gluten amid a growing demand for natural brown colors that do not pose any health concerns to consumers or contain any of the 14 allergens specified under the EU Labeling Regulation.

The Exberry browns can be used in apple drinks, ginger ale, energy drinks and natural cola (Image credit: GNT).Hendrickx tells us that under EU regulations, Shade Autumn Brown can be described on the ingredient list as “caramelized sugar syrup and carrot concentrate,” and Shade Golden Brown can be listed as “caramelized sugar syrup and apple concentrate.” This gives shoppers instant reassurance, she adds. 

She observes that there is also a growing need for transparency among consumers.

“Shoppers like to know exactly what they are consuming, which makes clean label coloring solutions really valuable to manufacturers.”

Plant-based colors can be used to deliver exceptional results without having to compromise on the ingredient list, she adds.

This is especially important when consumers’ clean label demands are rising and manufacturers are constantly innovating to fulfill them. 

Notably, coloring foods are considered ingredients rather than additives in the EU and many other parts of the world, giving them an advantage over other coloring solutions, Hendrickx told Food Ingredients First last year.

Ditching the artificial
Color formulators are increasingly tapping into nature to formulate sustainable and natural colors for F&B amid the increased scrutiny of specific color sources, such as titanium dioxide, Red No. 40 and Red No. 3.

Consumers are increasingly demanding natural colors in food and drinks, pushing clean label demands.Consumers are also seeking intense bright colors but demanding natural ingredients, especially in Asia Pacific. Owing to the hot and humid weather in the region, formulators are innovating with color powders that they can store at ambient temperatures and ship at a lower cost than liquids.

Earlier this month, Ginkgo Bioworks and Phytolon joined forces to develop natural food colors from betalains using fermentation baker’s yeast. The colors encompass the full-color palette of the yellow-to-purple spectrum.

ADM also has a library of natural colors developed from fruits, vegetables and other botanicals and a cleaner label alternative to white colorants like titanium dioxide.

Scientists are looking into natural color as well. A recent research in Denmark employed fermentation techniques to formulate natural betalain-type food colors using Yarrowia lipolytica, an oleaginous yeast commonly found in cheese.

By Insha Naureen