Natural Solutions Bring Protein Flavours to Life in Kibble Mixes
The divide between mainstream and specialty pet food shoppers is shrinking. In 2019, a substantial gap existed between the colour and claim preferences of these two groups in Sensient’s consumer research. However, when we conducted a new study in December 2023, one of our most fascinating findings was that the two groups have converged on a strikingly similar set of preferences: pet owners want to buy colourful AND natural kibble for their pets.
Sensient’s consumer research showed that both mainstream and specialty pet food shoppers in the US prefer the most colourful kibble option regardless of product positioning.
Naturalness continues to be on the rise, with over 40% of shoppers seeking all-natural claims in pet food, but protein content is a focus as well (Mintel 2023). One in three pet food purchasers say they are motivated by real meat being the first ingredient (Mintel 2023).
To reinforce specific meat ingredients and the natural claims rising in popularity, brands can use natural colours to emphasize certain proteins and flavours.
Let’s take a look at colour for some of the current top protein kibble choices:
Natural Solutions for
Beef Flavours
Depending on whether you are trying to depict raw or cooked beef, kibble has red or brown hues.
For deep reds appropriate for beef flavours, extrusion-stable options like Sensient’s stabilized beet solutions UberBeet™, Magna Ruby™, and SupraRed™ are ideal. Carmine is also extremely heat-stable and can be a great choice for kibble.
If you’re targeting a deeper brown, blends using Sensient’s Natural Brown or other colour solutions in our portfolio including anthocyanin blends can reach cost-effective dark brown hues perfect for beefy flavours.
Natural Solutions for Chicken, Duck,
and Turkey Flavours
Chicken stands the test of time for pet food, topping the flavour list by at least a 50% margin in each of the past five years. According to Mintel, duck is one of the top 5 fastest-growing flavours in kibble today, and Turkey consistently appears in the top 5 most prominent flavour groups for pet food.
Poultry profiles tend to suggest either white or light brown for most consumers, and those bright pieces of kibble can really stand out in a bowl. To achieve lighter hues in applications like kibble, treats, or retort canned food, the base shade must be lightened.
Sensient’s Avalanche™ portfolio is designed to close the gap for developers seeking clean label white options in various applications. With over 40 different solutions available today, Sensient’s colour experts can help you select the right fit for your product and processing conditions.
Natural Solutions for
Salmon Flavours
According to Mintel, salmon flavours are growing in popularity amongst pet food launches year-over-year, with salmon-flavoured launches up 10% since 2019 in Europe. Pinks are perfect for salmon protein profiles in pet food.
To achieve stable salmon pink hues in kibble, natural beet-based solutions like Magna Ruby™ and SupraRed™ can work extremely well. Developers can also look to carmine for extremely stable pink hues.
If you’re targeting a raw salmon visual, orange may be your ideal hue. In kibble, oranges can be achieved with natural colours like annatto or beta carotene.
Natural Solutions for
Bacon Flavours
Who doesn’t love bacon? Pet kibble launches with a bacon flavour have increased over 25% since 2019 (Mintel 2024), and a bright red colour is a perfect visual representation of that delicious bacon profile.
To achieve bright, Allura Red AC (E129) hues in kibble with natural solutions, highly stable, highly concentrated solutions are necessary.
Carmine is widely used in the pet industry for heat-stable reds, but for even cleaner beet concentrate or vegetable concentrate labeling, Sensient’s UberBeet™ portfolio is the right fit. SupraRed™ and Magna Ruby™ are beet-based solutions with enhanced heat stability and increased colour concentration to help developers achieve the bright reds of bacon in applications like kibble.
Natural Solutions for Gravy,
Jelly, and More
While darker brown hues typically signal flavours like beef or other cooked meats, lighter brown kibble can represent accent flavours like poultry, gravy, jelly, or liver.
To achieve these lighter browns, Sensient’s Natural Brown is an excellent clean label alternative to Class I and II caramel. In fact, in Europe, caramel class II, III and IV will no longer be authorized to be used in petfood and feed products by July 2025. Thus to achieve specific brown hues that may be warmer or cooler to match a specific flavour profile, our color experts can help create a blend with other natural colors, such as annatto or beta carotene.
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) provide guidance on natural and synthetic colours that can be safely used in pet food and treats. Sensient’s colour experts have combined decades of experience with the industry’s broadest colour portfolio to achieve a wide rainbow in kibble, canned food, and treats using colours safe and approved for use in pet products.
We take safety a step further
with our industry-leading food
safety program, Certasure™.
Certasure™ combines stringent quality and authenticity testing with rigorous vender certification, best manufacturing practices, and strict employee safety standards to provide the science of certainty in protecting the botanically sourced colours our customers need. Our customers can work confidently knowing that our food colours are safe for pets AND people.
