A Vibrant Market for Natural Colorings

In recent years, a growing concern over the potential safety of artificially derived colorings in food and beverage products has developed among policy makers and consumers alike. This has led, in part, to some food manufacturers replacing these colorings with naturally derived ones. As they do so, the global sales of naturally derived colorings have overtaken those of artificially derived colorings, according to new research about the global food colorings market from Mintel and Leatherhead Food Research.

Some of this may be due to consumer-driven campaigns that call on food manufacturers to look for alternatives to artificial colorings. In March 2013, two North Carolina women who write food blogs garnered media attention after they submitted a petition to Change.org calling on Kraft Foods Group to remove two artificial food colorings—Yellow #5 and Yellow #6—from its Kraft Macaroni & Cheese products. They pointed to studies that found that these dyes may contribute to hyperactivity in children, migraines, and asthma. They also brought up the fact that Europe has stricter regulations regarding the use of certain artificial food olorings and that Kraft’s version of Macaroni & Cheese sold in the UK does not contain artificial food colorings. (The regulation of food colorings in particular and food additives in general varies from country to country.) Kraft posted information on its website in response explaining to consumers that the Food and Drug Administration states that the food colorings allowed for use in food in the United States are safe and that it does offer 14 varieties of Macaroni & Cheese made with natural colorings or made without food colorings. 

The results of the so-called Southampton Six study in 2007, which found that hyperactivity significantly increased in children who consumed mixtures of six artificial food colorings (E102 tartrazine, E104 quinoline yellow, E110 sunset yellow, E122 carmoisine, E124 ponceau 4R, and E129 allura red) and additives, is said to be one of the motivating factors in the growing use of natural colorings in parts of Europe. As a result, the Food Standards Agency warned parents to avoid giving their children foods and beverages that contained any of the six colorings if they experience signs of hyperactivity and the European Union mandated that foods that contain any of the colorings carry a warning label. Another possible factor in the growing use of natural colorings is that advances are being made to improve their heat and light stability. For example, Sensient Colors LLC announced in April 2013 that it has developed a new emulsion technology that can produce natural colorings in shades previously not available, lessen package staining, reduce color bleed, minimize off-flavors, and allow for lower usage levels of the coloring ingredient. Finally, the demand for products that carry a “natural” claim has risen in recent years as has the demand for foods formulated with fewer additives, according to research firms like Innova Market Insights and Mintel, and this has encouraged food manufacturers to source naturally derived ingredients for use in their products.

The Mintel and Leatherhead Food Research report notes that global new product launches that are formulated with natural colorings have increased in recent years, especially in Europe, which has seen natural colorings used in about 85% of new food and beverage launches from 2009 to 2011. The report points out examples of confectionery manufacturers like Nestlé, Mars, Haribo, and Alfred Ritter as ones that have reformulated products with natural colorings, perhaps in part to compete with companies like The Natural Confectionery Co., which offers products formulated with natural colorings (and flavorings) in the UK and Ireland. In parts of Europe, there is also an increase in the use of natural colorings in yogurts, particularly Greek-style yogurt, which often has a “health” or “natural” positioning, and in bakery goods like biscuits and cakes due to some parents becoming more concerned with what their children eat.

The researchers are seeing growth in the use of natural colorings in the U.S. in the savory snacks, biscuits and cakes, and confectionery categories, though not to the extent as in parts of Western Europe, as well as a much larger use of natural colorings in soft drinks. They also explain that there has been some growth in the use of natural colorings in products that are sold in markets like India and the Middle East albeit much less than in Western Europe and in the U.S.

Karen Nachay,
Associate Editor 
[email protected]