Customized pigments: Natural claims in food colors drive consumers to bright and bold hues

24 May 2021 --- The natural colors space continues to gather speed in its shift toward close-to-nature ingredients, which are phasing out artificial dyes. Aside from this, there is a growing demand for nutritionally functional solutions, which provides significant opportunities in the world of clean label pigments. FoodIngredientsFirst speaks with key players in the coloring arena, who shed light on bright and bold trends that continue to evolve.

According to Emina Goodman, senior director for colors at ADM, colors from natural sources go hand-in-hand with plant-forward foods. “Many shoppers consider plant-based offerings better for their health and better for the environment, and they expect to see other ingredients derived from plants, beyond just proteins, used in these products,” she affirms. 

Formulators can account for this by incorporating colors sourced from fruits, plants and vegetables – and this toolkit is one that continuously expands. 

Nathalie Pauleau, global product manager for natural colors at Givaudan, says that consumer demand for natural products with perceived benefits has increased over the past year as consumers look to improve their lifestyle and diet to reinforce immunity in response to the pandemic. 

“In this context, interest in natural colors supporting healthy food concepts has grown, especially those relating to blue spirulina, yellow turmeric extract, and red elderberry extracts, all of which provide great vibrant colors.”

With color often being the first sensory perception in food, unity of color and taste is crucial for an enjoyable eating experience. Customizing applications
According to research from ADM, 49 percent of consumers believe that every individual is unique and requires a customized approach to their diet. 

“Hence the growing popularity in finding customized, functional solutions like fortified beverages and protein bars,” says Goodman. 

Sports and nutritional beverages benefit from bold colors associated with botanicals and fruits such as cherry, pineapple, elderberry and tangerine. 

“Protein bars benefit from natural browns with pops of bold color from included ingredients such as cranberries,” she adds.

Bright hues are crucial to the overall indulgent sensory experiences of consuming beverages, baked goods and snacks.

“For instance, rhubarb red is in demand for both color and flavor. However, prolonged exposure to high temperatures during baking can affect the intensity and stability of some chromophores. Certain colors can even bleed or create stains,” says Goodman.

Moreover, out-of-the-box applications, such as color-changing beverages and vivid alternatives in sweet foods, are “hitting the market left and right” to keep up with consumer demands for exciting experiences, she notes.

Naturally bold and bright
For eye-catching offerings, ADM uses its patented clear emulsion technology to allow for transparent appearance in beverages, easy use of colors and to prevent separation over shelf life.

“Additionally, our micronized color capabilities provide bright and consistent shades in foods and powdered beverages,” continues Goodman, also noting that the dairy product space stands to benefit from natural colors. 

“While colored, flavored milk drinks have captured kids’ imaginations, they can be tricky to work with because of factors such as pH and heat processing conditions like pasteurization. At ADM, we have a full spectrum of acid- and heat-stable colors to capture consumer attention,” she details. 

“Plus, our colors developed from natural sources help make indulgences like ice cream and frozen desserts more attractive.”

Enticing purchasing decisions
The color of a food or beverage can often impact purchasing decisions, especially when it comes to impulse purchases. 

“By playing with colors, it’s easier to innovate in the F&B industry without greatly impacting existing production processes and cost points,” says Henrik Damstrup, regional marketing manager at Oterra (previously Chr. Hansen Natural Colors). The color of a food or beverage can often impact purchasing decisions, especially when it comes to impulse purchases.

“Think about a very standard and traditional product – just by changing the color of it for a special edition or combining it with a new flavor variant. Innovation can be conveyed in a very easy way.”

According to Damstrup, the true genius of the best colors comes from a combination of what drives consumer demand within the food category it is and the story behind the product and the flavor and texture. 

“When you get that combination right, that is where the magic happens,” he claims. “This year, research shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted health and well-being, and consumers are more aware of the impact that food and beverages have on their general well-being,” Damstrup underscores.

Meanwhile, natural colors can also be used to complement the beneficial nature of healthier products and ensure they have a high level of appeal. “Don’t forget that we eat with our eyes,” he adds.

Coloring plant-based products
Even early on, the use of natural colors in plant-based products was identified as a basic requirement for new product developments in this category, says Pauleau at Givaudan. 

“Around 95 percent of new colored meat alternative product launches contain color solutions from natural sources, and more specifically, from plant-based coloring foods. Natural colors are overwhelmingly preferred because they fit well with the main drivers of this market, which are health, sustainability and ethical concerns.”

Megan Jacobs, global marketing manager at DDW, The Color House, predicts the plant-based segment will grow and expand with a larger potential for natural red and brown options.

“Natural colors are fundamental in the plant-based segment. The base materials used to create meat and seafood alternatives are not always appetizing shades or indicative of their imitating flavor. Adding color helps consumers make purchasing decisions on sight and provides labeling options that are recognizable and understandable,” she underscores.  

“The consumers who are interested in eating more plant-based options are also more likely to care about what is going into their body and where it came from, a requirement many natural colors can meet.”

“With the plant-based market taking off, global consumers are seeking meat alternatives that offer an appealing sensory experience, and that includes appearance,” adds Goodman from ADM.

Damstrup from Oterra reiterates that color authenticity in meat-imitation products will remain a critical benchmark for commercial success.

“With the rise of flexitarians, biomimicry has become the number one driver for why manufacturers use natural colors in the plant-based arena,” he explains. 

Flexitarians are driven to plant-based alternatives due to the advantages of limited sustainable footprint or alternative protein sources, but the tradeoff is of consequence, he highlights. 

“Flexitarians want the benefits while maintaining the consumption experience of traditional meat and dairy products. Natural colors have a unique stake in this as visually they can provide this experience.”

Crossover trends
The crossover of trends between industries is impacting all areas of F&B, including the color arena. 

Hybrid innovation is increasingly being used to deliver new sensory experiences as consumers become progressively adventurous. With this, “Flavor Mashups” has emerged as the first of Innova Market Insights’ Top Ten Flavor Trends for 2021.  

“The crossover of interests from food, beverages, beauty and health products has accelerated the interest in organic products for example, which the color industry has taken on board through developing ranges of organic colors to meet these demands,” explains Dr. Roland Beck, head of business unit colors at Döhler. 

“In the area of crossover cuisine, where food tastes from Asia and Europe intermingle, we have seen the growth of exciting and different prepared food dishes that can give a sensation of their regions of origin, requiring the application of colors in different contexts.”

The growth of sweet and savory foods being intermixed, creating new consumer experiences, has also “generated the demand for new color combinations to match these expectations,” he adds. 

In order to be labeled as a “Coloring Food,” the product must be made from edible fruits, vegetables, spices or herbs.Color regulation: What to expect?
Damstrup at Oterra says color regulation is currently not consistent across the world. 

“This means that there is a huge growth potential in many markets should legislation toward natural colors pass. We are monitoring the legislative situations closely, and as far as we know, several revisions and risk assessments related to synthetic and artificial colors are in progress in different regions, so some changes are expected,” he outlines. 

“One such example can be seen in India where the Indian Regulator FSSAI recently introduced the Food Safety and Standards Tenth Amendment Regulations, which recognizes coloring foods as a separate category.”

Commenting on which applications hold the most potential for the scope of the natural color, Jacobs at DDW says this can vary significantly by region. 

“Confections, for example, are great applications for natural colors. They are already used widely in these applications in Europe and the UK,” she notes. 

“But there is still huge potential for natural colors in this category if North America were to shift more away from using synthetics.”

“As well as the growth of application areas for natural colors, there is also a notable geographical expansion of their successful use with regions such as the Middle East and Asia developing a greater interest in these products – often supported by local legislation encouraging this,” adds Beck from Döhler. 

The desire for a natural replacement for titanium dioxide white in food and beverages, with the ongoing debate about the appropriateness of its use, has led to considerable interest in products that can meet the wide range of application demands. 

According to Beck, Döhler’s White Diamond is “a truly natural alternative to titanium dioxide for food and beverages.”

Earlier this month, FoodIngredientsFirst spoke to Beck and other coloring manufacturers who weighed in on the European Food Safety Authority’s latest safety assessment for the food additive titanium dioxide (E171).

Creating a natural alternative for titanium dioxide has been on the cards for some time, with many players examining alternative opacity and whitening solutions. Manufacturers have gradually been phasing out titanium dioxide for some time in the shift toward naturality.

Similarly, Beck remarks, there has been a considerable interest in an effective natural black that can perform well in different conditions, to which Döhler has also responded with the natural black color solution “Black Diamond.”

With an abundance of development in the colors arena, manufacturers continue their path to naturality and move away from synthetic colors. It’s a space brimming with bold and interesting innovation. 

By Elizabeth Green