Chr Hansen expands colouring food offering

29-Apr-2013 - Last updated on 30-Apr-2013 at 10:25 GMT

Ingredient supplier Chr. Hansen says it has stepped up efforts to support food and drink manufacturers in making the switch to the 'next generation' of natural colours by expanding its range of colouring foodstuffs.

The Danish-based firm noted that the recent all-encompassing global trend for health and naturalness, has led to consumers requesting food and drink products with fewer and simpler ingredients.

As a result the food and beverage industry's demand for colouring foodstuffs is increasing, it said.

Responding to such needs, the firm said it has significantly increased efforts in colouring foodstuffs to provide a full palette of colours and services.

'Next generation' natural

Luc Ganivet, senior director of business development at Chr Hansen explained that colouring foodstuffs appeal to the health-conscious consumers who requests foods that contain less processed raw materials and recognisable ingredients.

“There is a clear link to nature," he said. "The solutions are processed from carefully selected natural sources. This gives food manufacturers the opportunity to ‘colour food with food’ without making compromises on taste and appearance."

"Our FruitMax products hold clear labelling upsides for the food producers whether operating in Europe, South America or Asia,” Ganivet added.

Expanded offering

“We have been offering colouring foodstuffs as part of our natural colours portfolio for years,” said Ganivet - who heads up the firms colouring foodstuffs team.

“Now, based on valuable customer feedback, we have expanded the popular FruitMax family of colouring foodstuffs, adding 10 new shades to the range," he said.

Ganivet said that the FruitMax range now offers approximately 100 colour shades that are suitable for a variety of applications in confectionery, ice cream, beverage, dairy and fruit preparation industries.

“Moreover, we have revitalized our organizational, technical and regulatory framework surrounding the FruitMax solutions,” he explained.

A growing market

According to market data from RTS Resource, the global market for colouring foodstuffs currently uses 29,412 tonnes by volume, growing rapidly at a rate of 8.6% per year. In 2011, the market value for coloured foodstuffs was estimated to be $864m (€661m), however this is predicted to rise to $1.35bn (€1.03bn) by 2017.

RTS data provided by Foodtrending.com shows that soft drinks and dairy applications are the biggest markets for coloured foodstuffs currently, and account for almost two thirds of the global market value.