Natural food colour trends are increasingly seen as an important formulation concern within the global food and beverage sector. Clean label trends, regulatory concerns, retail requirements, and demand for known ingredients have all added to the focus on natural, plant-based, microbial, and upcycled colour systems. The increased scrutiny of the “Southampton Six” in the UK, along with growing awareness of certain artificial colours, has only added momentum to this trend. For B2B formulators, the challenge is achieving the required shade, stability, cost and compliance at commercial scale. Colour selection therefore influences food formulation, quality control, procurement, and product development in food industry, requiring application-specific assessment of extraction, processing, stability, and regulatory suitability rather than simple colour substitution.
Natural Food Colour Trends: Development, Research & Innovation
Natural food colour trends are increasingly seen as an important formulation concern within the global food and beverage sector. Clean label trends, regulatory concerns, retail requirements, and demand for known ingredients have all added to the focus on natural, plant-based, microbial, and upcycled colour systems. The increased scrutiny of the “Southampton Six” in the UK, along with growing awareness of certain artificial colours, has only added momentum to this trend. For B2B formulators, the challenge is achieving the required shade, stability, cost and compliance at commercial scale. Colour selection therefore influences food formulation, quality control, procurement, and product development in food industry, requiring application-specific assessment of extraction, processing, stability, and regulatory suitability rather than simple colour substitution.
Why the Food Industry Is Shifting to Natural Colours
The synthetic-to-natural colour shift has been initiated by regulation, consumers’ expectations and pressure from retailers. Growing scientific and regulatory scrutiny on some of the synthetic colouring agents and possible effects on children has made other options more attractive. Consumers are also looking for familiar, food-based ingredients, which makes clean label food colours important when it comes to product positioning. [1]
As far as product developers are concerned, the use of natural food colouring ingredients will help them position ingredients in their products, but they also introduce technical considerations. The variation in raw materials, concentration of pigments, sensitivity to process, and consistency in supply are some of those aspects. This is why natural food colour trends increasingly influence product development in food industry roadmaps.
H2 Popular Natural Colour Sources and Extraction Methods
Natural colours are found in fruits, vegetables, flowers, algae, and microbial fermentation. Selecting suitable natural pigment sources should be chosen depending on colour, pH, heat sensitivity, solubility, food matrices, and shelf-life properties.
Anthocyanins, Carotenoids, and Chlorophyll-Based Colours
Anthocyanins (E163) based on berries, black carrot, and red cabbage deliver red, purple, and blue shades, and an anthocyanin food colourant is highly sensitive to pH. Carotenoids like beta-carotene, annatto, and paprika deliver yellow-to-red shades and are typically suitable for use in lipid-containing matrices. Extracts of chlorophyll and phycocyanin extend the palette into green and blue applications, widening the options for plant-based food colourants.
Natural colour extraction methods range from aqueous and solvent-assisted extraction to ultrasound-assisted and other intensified techniques. Natural dye extraction technology is being developed to improve pigment recovery, purity, and process efficiency during ingredient production. The selected natural colour extraction methods can affect colour intensity, standardisation, residual solvents, and ingredient stability. Product formulation is a separate development pathway, where the extracted colour is evaluated for dosage, food-matrix compatibility, processing tolerance, and finished-product stability. [2]
Current Research Trends in Natural Food Colour Development
Current food colour stability research is aimed at making the natural colourants more reliable and stable in practical food systems. Microencapsulation, emulsification, nanoemulsion systems, spray-drying, and freeze-drying are being studied as techniques to protect the sensitive pigments from heat, oxygen, and light.
The fermentation process to produce microbial pigments is under investigation due to its potential to overcome the seasonality of the raw material sources and provide a stable supply. Colour extraction from fruit peels, tea waste, and other food processing residues has attracted researchers’ attention, combining innovation with circular-economy principles. Stabilized hibiscus pigments and floral beta-cyanins from Gomphrena globosa are being studied for red and pink food colouring applications.
These developments expand plant-based food colourants for new food product development, with greater emphasis on scalability and reproducibility. [3]
Challenges in Natural Colour Stability and Application
Colour stability in food processing remains the main technical challenge. Natural pigments sensitive to heat, light, oxygen, pH changes, metal ions, as well as protein or lipid interactions.
During food formulation, developers should consider:
- Heat and light: heat- and light-sensitive colours like betalains and phycocyanin may get degraded during processing.
- pH changes: anthocyanins may vary in colour intensity depending on the acidity levels.
- Metal ions: iron and copper may promote oxidation and discolouration;
- Oxygen: packaging permeability can reduce colour retention during storage.
- Batch inconsistency: natural origin requires standardization and incoming quality control of the raw materials is important.
Encapsulation, emulsification, antioxidants, controlled process conditions and oxygen-barrier packaging can improve performance. However, costs make dosage optimization and extraction yield important. [4]
Regulatory Landscape for Natural Food Colourants
Food colourant regulatory compliance must be assessed on a market-by-market basis. In India, FSSAI regulates food colours that are allowed to be used, specifications, conditions of use, and labelling. In the European Union, authorised food colourants work within the EU food additive regulatory system, whereas EFSA is responsible for scientific assessment of their safety. In the U.S., colour additives require FDA authorizations prior to their use.
Recent U.S. developments show the pace of change. In January 2025, the FDA revoked the authorization of FD&C Red No. 3 in food and gave manufacturers until January 15, 2027, to reformulate, following the agency’s determination under the Delaney Clause. In May 2025, the FDA approved three colour-additive actions, including Galdieria extract blue, additional uses of butterfly pea flower extract, and calcium phosphate. Globally, Codex added Jagua blue (INS 183) to the General Standard for Food Additives. These developments show why food colourant regulatory compliance, permitted categories, specifications, and labelling should be assessed alongside technical performance. [5] [6]
How Food Research Lab Supports Natural Colour Development
Food Research Lab could assist in the transformation of the natural food colour trends into a commercially viable formulation. The development process could cover screening of the natural food colouring ingredients, comparison of the pigments, dosing, tolerance during the processing, and conducting food colour stability research under relevant storage conditions.
If the clean label product development uses clean label food colours, then the colour choice may be matched with the product matrix, processing conditions, packaging, target market, and relevant regulations. This approach helps manufacturers identify formulation risks before scale-up and supports more reliable new food product development.
The objective is not simply to select a natural colour, but to establish a validated colour system with defined performance, dosage, stability expectations, and compliance requirements.
Conclusion
Natural colour development is moving beyond synthetic-dye replacement, becoming an effort toward stability, scalability, sustainability, and compliance in colouring systems. Extraction, encapsulation and fermentation innovations are creating more possibilities for formulations.
Planning a natural colour reformulation? Food Research Lab supports food product development services from pigment selection and formulation through stability testing and scale-up, helping manufacturers develop natural colour systems that perform reliably in real food applications.
Frequently Asked Question
Why is the food industry shifting toward natural food colours?
Consumer demands for clean label products, retailers’ demands, sustainability goals and regulations are prompting food manufacturers to evaluate natural alternatives. The shift is particularly relevant for products reformulated from those containing synthetic colours.
What are the most common sources of natural food colourants?
Common natural food colouring ingredients include anthocyanin-rich berries and red cabbage, carotenoids from carrots and paprika, betalains from beetroot, curcumin from turmeric, annatto, derivatives of chlorophyll, and pigments from algae. Selection depends on shade, processing conditions, stability, and regulatory approvals.
What are the main challenges when using natural food colours?
Natural colourants can be sensitive to heat, light, oxygen, and pH, while raw-material variability and cost can affect commercial performance. Stabilisation, standardisation, and application-specific testing are often required.
How is current research improving natural food colour development?
Modern scientific research contributes to the efficiency of extraction, encapsulation, dispersion, fermentation of natural colourants, and stabilization of their properties under real processing conditions. These advances are helping manufacturers develop more consistent colour systems for beverages, dairy, bakery, confectionery, sauces, snacks, and functional foods.
References
- Selvan, S., Imran, K., Iyer, S., & Rajendra, S. V. (2024). Plant-based colorants in the food industry: Trends and challenges. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/384691688_Plant-based_colorants_in_the_food_Industry_Trends_and_challenges
- Arroyo-Esquivel, L., & Esquivel, P. (2026). Natural food colorant applications in the food industry: Alternatives for overcoming stability limitations. Colorants, 5(3), 27. https://doi.org/10.3390/colorants5030027
- Ghosh, U. D. (2025). Microbial pigments: A healthy alternative of synthetic dyes in food industry. Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology, 19(2), 941–959. https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.19.2.24
- Abedelmaksoud, T. G., Al-Kharsa, M. M., Younis, M. I., & Tlay, R. H. (2026). Natural pigments in clean-label foods: A matrix-guided critical review of sources, stability, biofunctionality, regulation, and industrial applications. Food Research International, 244, 120506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2026.120506
- Vega, E. N., Ciudad-Mulero, M., Fernández-Ruiz, V., Barros, L., & Morales, P. (2023). Natural sources of food colorants as potential substitutes for artificial additives. Foods, 12(22), 4102. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12224102
- Shoba, S., Uvasri, D., Hemashri, M., Jalakandeswari, K., Jeeva, K., & Rukshana, I. (2026). Food colourants: Classification, applications, safety assessment, regulatory aspects, and future perspectives—A review. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 4(8), 1176–1188. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21837487
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