Oterra, one of the the world’s leading suppliers of natural colours for food and beverage, announce the immediate launch of its Simply Brown range. Expertly crafted from apples, the new range heralds a new era in Oterra’s clean label caramel replacement solutions as part of their flagship FruitMax® colouring food range.
While caramel has long been a food colouring staple, changing consumer preferences show the need for clean brown replacements. A recent study showed over 25 % of consumers actively avoid foods with additives due to healthier eating, while 56 % will pay more for products bearing a ’natural’ label. Oterra’s Simply Brown range, which includes four products, a powder, and liquid for human consumption, and two pet products, answers this demand by utilising a gentle cooking process that results in rich, stable natural brown shades without the unwanted caramelisation.
Food and Beverage manufacturers who utilise Oterra’s Simply Brown range meet clean label requirements by being able to list the colours on packaging as ‘Apple concentrate’ in the EU or ‘Fruit juice (colour)’ in the US. In contrast to certain caramel replacements, such as malt, Simply Brown is also gluten-free, and devoid of 4-MEI and sulfites, making it an even more attractive alternative for health-conscious consumers.
The range is ideally suited for bakery, cereal, snack, and savory applications, given ist exceptional stability, even in high pH and high-temperature environments. Furthermore, it is perfect for use in dairy applications, as it delivers that classic chocolate milkshake appearance without interfering with other proteins and minerals in the mixture.
GNT has expanded its range of EU organic-certified EXBERRY® colouring foods with new yellow and green shades made from organic safflower.
The organic market is seeing exceptional growth1 as modern consumers pay closer attention to food and drink products’ health and sustainability credentials. In response to the rising demand, GNT has launched two new EXBERRY® organics products.
EXBERRY® organics ‘Fruit & Veg Yellow’ is made from organic safflower and organic apple, while EXBERRY® organics ‘Veg Green’ is made from organic safflower and organic spirulina. Both are compliant with Organic Regulation (EU) 2018/848.
Suitable for a wide variety of food and beverage applications, the new products extend an EXBERRY® organics range that already features red, purple, blue, and orange options.
GNT Europa’s Managing Director, Petra Thiele, said: “EXBERRY® organics can be used to create spectacularly vibrant food and drink while maintaining perfectly clean ingredient lists. We’re delighted to now be able to introduce colouring foods made from organic safflower concentrate to the market, opening up exciting new possibilities for organic brands.”
Based on the principle of colouring food with food, EXBERRY® organics are created from edible fruit, vegetables, and plants using traditional physical processing methods. They are certified organic in accordance with EU regulations and qualify for completely clean and clear label declarations throughout much of the world.
EXBERRY® organics concentrates are also 100 % vegan-friendly, halal, and kosher. In addition, the fully traceable raw materials are grown using sustainable methods by farmers working as part of GNT’s vertically integrated supply chain.
1FiBL & IFOAM ‘The World of Organic Agriculture’ (2022)
Moving beyond the traditional annual colour forecast, GNT has launched groundbreaking research that empowers food and beverage brands to devise tailormade solutions for the modern market.
The growth of the personalization and customization trends is fueling demand for products that appeal to shoppers on a deeper level. Building on more than 40 years’ experience, GNT has developed ‘The Power of Colour’ to help brands create colouring solutions that will connect with their target consumers.
The research combines consumer psychology and semiotics to deliver unique insights into how color generates meaning across products, brands, and categories, enabling manufacturers to create powerful stories and stand out in their category.
Maartje Hendrickx, Market Development Manager at GNT, said: “It’s clear that a one-size-fits-all approach to colour is rapidly becoming outdated. As a service provider, innovation has always been in our DNA and this trailblazing project enables us to help customers find the cutting-edge colouring solutions they need to strengthen their market position and reach new audiences.”
Created alongside professional semioticians, The Power of Colour explores the many ways in which colour sends out messages on a conscious and subconscious level.
For an inside-out perspective, it uses psychology to explore consumer motivations. It examines the tensions that drive product and brand choices, such as the desire for pleasurable yet permissible food and drink.
The second phase uses semiotics to provide an outside-in perspective, showing how colour can help to deliver on these motivations and needs.
Colour codes and cues create a variety of meanings across different cultures, categories, and situations. For example, colour can indicate how to navigate situations and guide decision-making, as in the case of food nutrition labels. It can also signal personal identity, whether through fashion, cosmetics, or even food and drink. Colours evoke moods and emotions, too – red is seen as an energizing shade, for instance, while yellow is associated with joy.
Together, these two perspectives allow brands to build a comprehensive understanding of how colour can be used to cater to different consumer needs and create a compelling narrative.
Jill Janssen, GNT’s Power of Colour lead, said: “Colour can send out any number of messages about brands and products. It might signal a moment of blissful escapism, tell stories about origins and process, showcase powerful ingredients, or help to highlight healthy formulations. The Power of Colour helps brands think about colour in a new way, delving deeper than ever before into its cultural power while also exploring the psychology behind colour trends.”
