Natural Colouring for Baked Goods, Snacks, and Bakery Decorations
Colour Elevates Baked Goods
As shoppers seek incremental indulgences, many love to treat themselves to delicious baked goods, both sweet and savoury. Innovation in this space is rampant and primarily focused on delivering superior or interesting flavours that stand out from the pack.
75%
of baked goods launches in 2024 are flavoured
Mintel 2024
The right color can increase consumer flavour perception an average of
+15%
Sensient Consumer Research 2019
When used correctly, colour can amplify a flavour profile and add to the sensory consumption experience. The wrong colour, or a colour that doesn’t look quite as good as a consumer thinks it should, can be detrimental to a product’s success. Consumers expect delicious baked goods to LOOK delicious: we eat with our eyes first!
Naturalness is an Important Factor
Because 55% of European consumers look at ingredient list when selecting baked goods to purchase (Mintel 2024), many brands are looking to renovate or innovate with clean label ingredients. Mintel reports that natural claims continue to rise among launches of baked goods, accounting for 42% of launches in 2023.
Natural colours are highly appealing to clean label seekers, but depending on the application there are certain factors that developers should keep in mind in order to ensure the most successful colour performance in finished goods.
Key Considerations for Colour in Fresh & Packaged Bakery
Frostings & Icings
The primary colour focus in frostings and icings is a combination of light exposure and colour bleed. Unlike fat-based coatings, these applications typically have both water and oil content in the formula. However, it is important to select light-stable colour solutions. Colour technologies that mitigate the risk of colour bleed, like Microfine™, can improve the final appearance of the product.
Fat-Based Coatings
The primary colour focus in fat-based coatings is oil applicability to ensure consistent bright shades in the finished application. A solution that is not oil applicable will not be fully incorporated into the coating, resulting in poor colour performance or uneven appearance. Advanced Dispersion Technology is designed to overcome these issues and is the optimal solution for fat-based products.
Sprinkles
The primary colour focus in sprinkles is water applicability, much like water-based coatings. Many sprinkles are cold-pressed, so heat is not a factor, but it is important to select colours that will incorporate fully into water-based applications. Fat-based sprinkles have the opposite effect, so they rely on oil-based colours.
Pan Coated Bakery Decoration
The primary colour focus in pan coated decorations for baked goods is the combination of successful panning capability with heat stability during the baking process. Successful panning is heavily dependent on the formula and panning process, which you can learn more about in this blog.
Sweet or Savoury Baked Goods and Bases
The primary colour focus in sweet or savoury baked goods and bases is heat stability. Depending on the duration and temperature of the heat processing, some colour solutions will be particularly successful.
Fillings
The primary colour focus in fillings is water or oil solubility depending on the filling’s recipe. If the filling does contain water, a water-soluble solution can be used. Many fillings are also acidic, so selecting colour solutions that are stable in low-pH environments is key to success.
Coloured Dry Mixes
The primary colour focus in dry mixes is to ensure consistent colour incorporation in multiple stages, from the dry powder mix to the hydrated batter to the finished baked product. This requires a colour solution that can evenly and consistently coat dry powder particles, such as Microfine™ as well as remain stable in liquid scenarios and survive the baking process.
Key Enabling Solutions for Bakery & Bakery Decorations
SupraRed™ is a highly concentrated beet juice technology designed to perform in bakery applications. Our UberBeet™ portfolio of enhanced beet-based colours also includes Magna Ruby and other optimized beet solutions.
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Enabling developers looking for non-migrating colors to use natural colouring with plating characteristics.
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For developers and brands seeking to replace Titanium Dioxide for whitening and opacity across applications, Avalanche™ is the industry-leading portfolio of solutions. Sensient’s R&D team is constantly adding to this portfolio as new sources are discovered and technological advancements are made.
request a sampleNatural Brown
Natural Brown is Sensient’s portfolio of caramel-free natural brown solutions. From the lightest tan shades to deep coffee and hickory, Natural Brown can be used alone or in blends to create the perfect brown shade in bakery applications.
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Designed to enable developers to use water-soluble colours in oil-based applications.
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