USA – Netherlands-based supplier of natural colours to the food industry GNT is investing US$30 million to expand its US-based facility for North American ingredient production.
According to GNT, the 49-acre facility is strategically located close to Charlotte in North Carolina and will be used to supply customers throughout the US, Canada and Mexico.
The facility’s warehouse which has already been commissioned “will bring increased capacity, supply-chain efficiency, and improved control of inventory,” notes Hendrik Hoeck, CEO at GNT Group.
Expansion works will also see the construction of a new Technical and Culinary Experience Center, scheduled to open August 2022.
GNT says the center will provide visitors and culinary teams with an unprecedented opportunity to experiment, create and innovate together.
“We look forward to hosting workshops, which will enable customers to meet teams of R&D scientists in person to collaborate on color matching, pilot plant trials and more,” Hoeck notes.
He further acknowledged that the completion of the project’s next phase will bring finished goods’ production even closer to the company’s North American customers by the end of 2022.
“This will increase the speed of bringing innovation to market,” explains Hendrik Hoeck.
GNT’s new investment happens as the natural colors industry continues to gather speed in its shift toward close-to-nature ingredients.
There is significant interest in these plant-derived ingredients due to their nutritionally functional attributes, which provide significant opportunities in the world of clean label pigments.
In keeping up with the shift to natural colors, GNT recently launched two Exberry coloring foods made from turmeric and spirulina, which it said provides new opportunities for clean-label greens in dairy and other products.
It said its new Shade Jade Green delivers a bright, bluish-green shade, while Shade Lime Green provides a yellowish-green hue.
Both colours are liquid-based and can be used in a range of applications, including confectionery such as fruit jellies and hard-panned products; dairy products including yogurt and ice cream; and decorative coatings for bakery, dairy, and more.
The products expand GNT’s range of green coloring foods, helping the company cater to the growing global demand for cost-effective green colors that support clean label declarations.
GNT also recently hailed the Natural Food Colours Association (NATCOL)’s Code of Practice for Coloring Foods in Europe as an “important milestone” for the industry.
The Code of Practice for the classification, manufacturing, use, and labeling of Coloring Foods in the EU provides clear support for coloring ingredients made from edible fruit, vegetables, and plants.
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