IFT First 2024: California Natural Color harnesses butterfly pea extract to showcase new shades of purple

22 Jul 2024 --- California Natural Color, a US-based global ingredient supplier of premium grape juice concentrates, natural colors and grape seed extract, highlighted its newest addition to its crystal color portfolio, Pure Purple Butterfly Pea, during the IFT First in Chicago last week.

The company aims to provide manufacturers with the broadest range possible of nature-based, clean label color solutions. Pure Purple Butterfly Pea, its newest offering, is a unique coloring agent that achieves purple shades in applications with a pH of 4.0 or below and bold blue hues in applications greater than a pH of 4.0.

Because of the ingredient’s exceptional stability against heat and light, it will allow manufacturers the opportunity to expand into new categories or develop products that may not have been previously possible.

Speaking to Food Ingredients First at the show, Dana Osborn, marketing manager, tells us: Our newly launched Pure Purple Butterfly Pea is a coloring solution for manufacturers that uses our innovative crystal color technology.”

“We see a lot of consumers looking for clean label products with minimal ingredients, as well as opting for ingredients they understand,” she explains. 

“The US Food & Drug Administration’s Food Safety & Nutrition report found that more than 75% of consumers read ingredient lists on labels ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ when they purchase, and it’s because nearly half (47%) are ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ concerned about artificial ingredients — like synthetic colors.”

“That’s why we source all our colors from nature — the grapes, carrots, sweet potatoes and other fruits and vegetables consumers know and love. Yet, we know consumers respond to vibrant, bold colors and manufacturers are looking for high-performance solutions.”

Dana Osborn, marketing manager of California Natural Color.“Manufacturers are also asking for shades of blue, purple and greens, and we are seeing an uptick in products by utilizing those colors.”

Osborn notes that the company’s Pure Purple Butterfly Pea fits in “perfectly” with this demand from a manufacturing standpoint, meaning it appeals to consumers with its clean label. The color can be listed as Butterfly Pea Extract on the product pack, she adds. 

Crystal color tech
California Natural Color colors are available in liquid, concentrate, and harness the company’s crystal color technology.

“Typically, it’s up to five times more concentrated in color than a spray-dried color or a liquid format. So, manufacturers and developers usually use a smaller amount compared to the other formats out there in the marketplace. They are shelf stable and have up to a five-year shelf life, so they can be stored at ambient temperature.”

She adds that they also don’t require refrigeration, which leads to savings throughout the supply chain. 

“Some formats, however, typically require liquid colors to be refrigerated and have a shorter shelf life, anywhere from one to two years. But with our crystal delivery format, they don’t have to be stored cold and are highly concentrated.”

Osborn says that not only this, but “the amount that you would be ordering in a liquid coloring would be less because of the high color concentration with our crystals.”

Shades of purple 
Commenting on the comparison with other purple solutions on the market today, Osborn believes that “other purple solutions are often a blend of colors that are unique and with different pH levels.”California Natural Color brings clean label color solutions to its vibrant, natural color palette.

“So you’ll get a beautiful purple shade for the pH of 4.0 and under and then it shifts toward a bluer shade, for instance.”

She underscores that when the pH is above the desired level, it’s a highly stable coloring solution and product that can be used in a variety of applications, from alcoholic beverages to soft drinks, confectionery and so on.

Looking at future trends in our digital age, Osborn observes the re-emergence of floral flavors that also fit in well with trends for flavors such as lavender, hibiscus or butterfly pea. “Our purple shades also fit these flavor profiles really well,” she concludes.

By Elizabeth Green, with additional reporting by Missy Green in Chicago, US