August 12, 2014 - Blog
Color not only affects the visual appeal of foods and beverages, but also plays into perceived taste. Getting color right is critical to a product’s success.
The color of a food or beverage product is often a consumer’s first encounter with a product; it’s a visual first impression that can result in a sale (or not) and ultimately influences a consumer’s enjoyment of a product.
What’s more, color influences how consumers perceive taste and quality, and can impact their preferences. In fact, some companies have learned the hard way about the powerful link between a product’s appearance and acceptance. For example, PepsiCo’s short-lived Crystal Pepsi proved that consumers didn’t love clear cola. It failed to meet their expectations for how cola is supposed to look, and how clear soda should taste.
Color additives serve a number of purposes in food and beverages, which include, according to FDA: “to offset color loss due to exposure to light, air, temperature extremes, moisture and storage conditions; to correct natural variations in color; and to provide color to colorless and ‘fun’ foods."
FDA classifies permitted colors as certified or exempt from certification. The former are synthetically produced; the latter are—for the most part—derived from natural sources. Increasingly, consumers are looking for the latter.
In fact, Mintel data shows that from January 2009 to December 2011, the global use of natural colors has been much higher (66 percent of launches) than synthetic/artificial colors (34 percent of launches) in new food and drink products.
When working with natural colors, simple solutions may be the answer, such as mixing different colors together to create a wider variety of hues, or formulating with antioxidants to improve the shelf-life of natural pigments. Other times, more aggressive solutions are needed, as every color and source presents its own set of problems.
For a closer look at food and beverages colors—including natural color options and an overview of caramel colors—download Food Product Design’s free Digital Issue, “The Color Issue."
Color not only affects the visual appeal of foods and beverages, but also plays into perceived taste. Getting color right is critical to a product’s success.
The color of a food or beverage product is often a consumer’s first encounter with a product; it’s a visual first impression that can result in a sale (or not) and ultimately influences a consumer’s enjoyment of a product.
What’s more, color influences how consumers perceive taste and quality, and can impact their preferences. In fact, some companies have learned the hard way about the powerful link between a product’s appearance and acceptance. For example, PepsiCo’s short-lived Crystal Pepsi proved that consumers didn’t love clear cola. It failed to meet their expectations for how cola is supposed to look, and how clear soda should taste.
Color additives serve a number of purposes in food and beverages, which include, according to FDA: “to offset color loss due to exposure to light, air, temperature extremes, moisture and storage conditions; to correct natural variations in color; and to provide color to colorless and ‘fun’ foods."
FDA classifies permitted colors as certified or exempt from certification. The former are synthetically produced; the latter are—for the most part—derived from natural sources. Increasingly, consumers are looking for the latter.
In fact, Mintel data shows that from January 2009 to December 2011, the global use of natural colors has been much higher (66 percent of launches) than synthetic/artificial colors (34 percent of launches) in new food and drink products.
When working with natural colors, simple solutions may be the answer, such as mixing different colors together to create a wider variety of hues, or formulating with antioxidants to improve the shelf-life of natural pigments. Other times, more aggressive solutions are needed, as every color and source presents its own set of problems.
For a closer look at food and beverages colors—including natural color options and an overview of caramel colors—download Food Product Design’s free Digital Issue, “The Color Issue."
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