NETHERLANDS – The Netherlands-based food colors are food ingredients provider, GNT Group has expanded its popular EXBERRY® natural colors range with new blue powders derived from spirulina, providing significantly intense color.

The new Exberry powders are available in both standard and micronized powder forms and offered with a choice of carriers, including maltodextrin or sugar.

According to the company, powders are guaranteed to be trehalose-free, ensuring good levels of consumer acceptance.

They can be used in food and beverage formulations where high intensity blue color is desired especially from a natural and traceable source.

The powders can be used at reduced doses, offering superior solubility and stability in a number of applications such as instant beverages, hard-panned products, fondant, white chocolate and pressed tablets.

“The challenge of achieving vibrant blue colors in food using only ingredients from a natural origin is well understood,” said Sonja Scheffler, Product Manager at GNT.

“However, naturalness is what consumers are demanding so there is pressure on manufacturers to deliver that.

“Our new high intensity blue powders from spirulina will make it significantly easier to do so at lower doses without compromising on important product performance factors such as solubility and stability.”

Spirulina is a blue-green algae, valued for its coloring and nutritional properties and is widely and safely consumed globally.

The new range is part of NT’s Exberry Coloring Foods portfolio featuring coloring ingredients obtained from fruits, vegetables and edible plants using gentle, physical processes such as pressing, chopping, filtering and concentrating.

GNT’s portfolio also includes Exberry Sunshine Shades, ranging from bright sunbeam yellow to warm harvest orange, all derived from raw materials including pumpkin, carrots and turmeric.

Since the materials are naturally sourced, the resulting coloring ingredients qualify for cleaner and clearer labeling declarations.

They can also be used by manufacturers to meet growing consumer demand for vibrant as well as natural colors, driven by health and wellness trends.

Natural colors are winning over synthetic counterparts even as desire for cleaner and safer food products continue to rise.