Gavan tech “beats the blues” with spirulina-derived vibrant blue for hot and cold drinks

28 Feb 2022 --- Food-tech start-up Gavan, is creating a wide range of natural blue colorings for hot and cold drinks via a proprietary technology. This includes a method for extracting an entirely natural, pure blue that delivers high performance and high stability while being extremely eye-catching.

The coloring solutions are based on spirulina, which has been gaining traction as a superfood for some time now.

Speaking with FoodIngredientsFirst, Itai Cohen, company CEO and co-founder examines how these new natural blue colors holds up under high-heat processing and in low pH, enabling full pasteurization. 

“Gavan’s proprietary technology enables us to transform spirulina or other plant-based compounds and sources into easy-to-use, water-dispersible food colorings suitable for hot and cold beverages,” he says.

Blue colors food & beverage are becoming popular among young consumers, predicts the Gavan team.“Natural blue is considered the Holy Grail of the beverage industry. Consumers enjoy jazzing up their drinks with naturally-derived vibrant colors. As one of the few natural blue sources today, spirulina extract still struggles in acidic beverages and under high-heat processing.” 

“While blue is one of the most requested natural colors for beverages, the industry is looking for a natural replacement to synthetic colors that can overcome the acidic pH in beverage applications and Gavan solves this problem,” Cohen explains.

Overcoming instability in natural shades of blue

The new coloring formulation is ideal for tea and coffee as well as functional drinks and sport drinks. 

Such products typically require specific production parameters, including infusion in boiling water or acidic medium.

Consumers increasingly wish to avoid the artificial additives that create the vivid colors and the search for all-round solutions to the natural blue problem comes with difficulties. 

Finding an all-around solution to the natural blue problem has been challenging.

Both synthetic blue dyes and plant-based blue coloring have regulatory, stability, intensity or price challenges. In addition, the main barrier to creating food formulations with natural colors is maintaining stability to ensure vibrant and consistent true blue throughout the product’s shelf life.

Any heat treatment might impact the color irreversibly, and any shift in the pH can impair the color stability and influence the blue color’s shade.

“The challenge we overcome is the ability to use natural blue in high temperature process, such as pasteurization. Something that does not exist today. We are also able to create several shades of blue that will meet our customer needs,” Cohen continues.

Why blue?
Speaking about the growth opportunities within natural blue use, Cohen explains how younger generations are demanding eye-catching, vibrant colors that make their food and beverages stand out. 

Instagrammable food has been a concept for a while now and blue beverages definitely fit into this space.

“Blue colors food & beverage are becoming popular among young consumers, and we assume this will affect the growth of hot beverages as well as functional drinks and sports drinks,” says Cohen. 

 “Product innovation and the launch of new hot or cold drinks in a variety of shades of blue colors will contribute to the increase significantly,” he notes.“Natural blue” is considered the Holy Grail of the beverage industry.

“Natural blue” is considered the Holy Grail of the beverage industry.

Driving the market for food colors 
Cohen says the food colors market is projected to reach US$5.4 billion by 2026 driven by consumer desire for natural food colors with health benefits and increased awareness for clean label products.

“Given the fact that natural colors are an increasing trend and that one of the founders has a deep knowledge in spirulina, it was requested that the first development would be a natural blue color.”

Gavan is also looking into additional sources.

“With consumer demand for plant-based food products with high protein content, the food & beverage industry is seeking better solutions to the challenges presented by plant-based proteins, such as taste, scent, texture, and functionality. Our technology provides breakthrough customized solutions,” he adds.

Go gently
Gavan’s non-GMO technology extracts and optimizes the colorant gently, without damaging the source, and enables the extraction of multiple compounds from the whole spirulina, without waste.

The technology protects the colorant from fading, even at pH as low as 3.0 or when pasteurized at 90°C for 30 seconds. In addition, the platform’s control over particle size offers improved stability throughout the final product’s shelf life.

“Gavan’s proprietary technology enables us to transform spirulina or other plant-based compounds and sources into easy-to-use, water-dispersible food colorings suitable for hot and cold beverages,” says Cohen. 

“Gavan’s blue can replace artificial coloring and opens options for acidic beverages to be colored with any blue shades. It has no impact on flavor, and maintains a clear, clean label. Our advanced platform can revolutionize plant-based products across multiple categories.”

By Gaynor Selby