Oterra establishes new innovation, production hub in Wisconsin

USA – Oterra, a company specializing in natural colors for the food and beverage industry, is expanding its presence in the United States with a new facility in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. 

The 155,000-square-foot headquarters integrates innovation and application labs with manufacturing and logistics operations to address the rising demand for natural color solutions.

The facility also includes an additional 40,000 square feet of space, which is reserved for the development of new products and partner pilot production lines. 

The company’s CEO, Martin Sonntag, highlighted this investment as a step toward strengthening Oterra’s capacity to serve the growing market for environmentally friendly and health-conscious food products in North America.

“This facility demonstrates our commitment to the U.S. market,” Sonntag said. 

“Oterra’s position in North America allows us to better support customers transitioning to natural color solutions.”

The new center offers customers and partners the opportunity to collaborate directly with Oterra’s regulatory and application specialists to develop innovative natural color solutions or reformulate existing products to meet changing consumer preferences.

This comes as a recent study by the Natural Colors Association (NATCOL) revealed that U.S. consumers are showing a preference for natural food coloring in their purchasing decisions. 

The research found that while consumers rank appearance among the top five factors influencing food and beverage choices, awareness of color is often secondary to attributes such as taste, price, and nutritional content.

Despite this, seven out of ten respondents expressed a positive perception of natural food coloring, associating it with terms such as “healthy,” “safe,” “sustainable,” and “appealing.” 

Many consumers also showed a willingness to choose products labeled with natural colors when provided with clear information about their benefits.

Sign up HERE to receive our email newsletters with the latest news and insights from Africa and around the world, and follow us on our WhatsApp channel for updates.