DDW targets new platforms in natural colors

31 Jul 2017 --- The desire for natural and clean label color trends is driven by health and wellness factors, particularly in the US. Global health demands are not only seeing small and innovative brands but major brands moving to naturally sourced colors; to meet today’s needs of the health conscious consumer.

Earlier this year, DDW, “The Color House,” introduced a purple corn food color powder to the food and beverage market which has been cultivated in the US. You can read the full story here.

Campbell Barnum (pictured, left), Vice President, DDW, Louisville tells FoodIngredientsFirst: “The purple corn is cultivated, extracted and dried into powder in the US. We bring in whole purple corn to make a juice concentrate liquid and a powder, which is more or less the case in colors across our entire range.”

Barnum points to Innova Market Insights data which found that 72 percent of food and beverage launches in North America with added food color contain naturally derived color. “Consumer preference has driven the percentage to that height despite a formulation cost premium. Unlike most of the (imported) vegetable juices used for coloring, the purple corn color is sourced in the US,” he explains.

For Barnum, DDW customers prefer documented control from seed to sale, and the company has been busy extending their portfolio from a domestic crop that’s a sustainable, scalable source of color.

According to DDW, within the colors and coloring food space, the company has seen an increase in launches containing those ingredients, as validated by Innova Market Insights. FoodIngredientsFirst also spoke to Jason Armao (pictured), Senior VP for Science & Innovation, who notes that the increased interest in natural colors is down to technology and easy access to information in understanding what consumers are putting in their bodies.

“From a coloring perspective, there are many new opportunities in the market,” he explains. “If you look at spirulina, which has been used in the EU for a number of years, it has only just been approved in the US within the last couple of years. Similar to turmeric, it can be used for coloring purposes, but it can also be used for nutrition in different formats and there has been expansion into different application areas within the US market. However, there are still coloring gaps in the areas of performance in green and blue, which are the most challenging colors,” he adds.

“In the case of red, it is very commonly used. There is no problem with red when you look at low pH applications, but once you move to neutral pH applications it becomes more challenging, and especially so if heat becomes involved,” says Armao (pictured, right). 

“There's still a gap there, which is largely down to carmine. With carmine, you have a kosher issue and a vegan issue (trends that we see growing rapidly), which also fit well with consumers, as they can connect on a personal level. Even though it is still widely used, I would say that it has not been used as much as it has been previously in certain retailers or markets.”

The need for organic and foods related to traditions are certainly an area where DDW also see growth and opportunities. In the mature markets like North America and Europe, the need for natural is thriving, however. But there are still parts of the world such as South Africa and Asia which have not yet converted to using natural colors. “We have several certified color options for organic,” continues Barnum, “And next year we will be coming out with another in purple corn.”

According to Armao, the area of brown is a huge market globally and fairly consistent too. Trends moving to less processed colors include caramel colors which are broken down into several classes; class one to four. “Beyond that in Europe, there is a category called ‘burnt sugar,’ which is probably closest in color to a class one caramel colors. Then on top of that, we have a whole portfolio which we call brown or vegetable-based colors,” he says.

Driven by the need for simple labels solutions and DDW’s approach is where Barnum and Armao believe the company can develop large scale solutions, which are sustainable. “When you look at the scale that is required, if you were to replace a segment of the market that is completely synthetic with natural colors, that can have a huge impact on the supply chain and can influence things globally within the raw material markets in natural colors,” explains Armao.

“When we started to look at purple corn around 7 or 8 years ago, we knew that corn is something that is grown around the world on a large scale. We were able to make complete use of the corn by producing our product and other outlets that are left over by other productions. We are leveraging the scale of corn production in an economical way to our customers for a red color and also ensure we completely utilize our product that we are using for purple corn juice concentrate powder,” he states.

“Another area that we have focused on over the past few years is our line of emulsion colors,” notes Armao. “We have several new options that provide transparent emulsions which are colored; we have been able to create emulsions that are transparent. That has been a key focus area for us, transitioning away from titanium dioxide, which is a white pigment that is commonly used in beverages and confectionery. Due to consumer pressures, there has been a move away from it, so we have developed several alternative solutions that are better and can be used instead of titanium oxide,” he confirms.

Looking to the future of natural colors, Armao says that there are some projects in the pipeline. “Some our solutions for natural colors, such as green and blue do include the possibilities around spirulina. This is nothing new, but one avenue to go down. We are looking at further developments in the area of spirulina, but also other sources as well.”

Over the past two years, DDW has opened 3 new facilities, launched a range of emulsions in the US and a new facility that development in Asia. For this reason, both Armao and Barnum conclude that: “the future looks good”.

“The global nature and presence allow us to work closely with multi-national companies and connect all the dots from region to region. We can offer our products in a way that is a bit more challenging for other companies that are less global,” finalizes Armao. 

DDW’s liquid purple corn color received the NEXTY award for “Best New Ingredient” at Natural Products Expo West in 2016. DDW featured the innovation at the 2017 IFT Food Expo in Las Vegas. You can view a video interview about this and other DDW products here.

By Elizabeth Green