Natural Brown Colors that are Vibrant and Stable in Baking

While indulgence and flavor remain top consumer priorities in cookie categories, today consumers are increasingly looking for offerings that balance those indulgent cravings with a healthy twist.

The pandemic has made consumers prioritize emotional well-being again, looking for products that engage multiple senses to achieve exciting experiences. Today, many brands enhance color, flavor, texture, and aroma to develop multi-sensory products. Consumers want more nutritious cookies that taste good and look appealing. Therefore the indulgent categories must evolve to become a more nutritious option with enough flavor, color, and texture to be enjoyed as an allowable treat.

Color is an attribute that can immediately help improve overall flavor perception.

Natural color is a great way to bring new and exciting flavors to life, and the shade possibilities are almost endless. When formulating with natural colors there is usually more complexity, but a solution is almost always available. The color of fruits and vegetables can offer cookie brands a brilliant competitive advantage.

The challenges when formulating with natural colors in baking

Consumers are increasingly examining product labels and ingredient lists, looking for more natural and healthier options that suit their particular needs.

To align with the trend towards naturalness, many developers are exploring formulating using natural colors in baking. However, these present some challenges. For example, some brands are looking for alternatives to caramel color since this color does not comply with a clean label. Additionally, natural alternatives to a caramel color specifically have a significant heat stability challenge for applications, such as cookies, with a baking process. Fortunately, the industry offers a variety of natural hues for baked goods, with unique innovations focused on overcoming some significant challenges due to thermal stability. Many cookie mixes are shades of beige or brown if the recipe has a cocoa component, but shades of brown are usually needed to standardize the final shade. Historically, caramel colors were the go-to for brown tones. But in recent years, Sensient has received many requests for alternate options. At Sensient, we have a platform of natural colors as an alternative to caramel color, whose range of tones goes from a golden tone to a deep brown shade.

To align with the trend towards naturalness, many developers are exploring formulating using natural colors in baking. However, these present some challenges. For example, some brands are looking for alternatives to caramel color since this color does not comply with a clean label. Additionally, natural alternatives to a caramel color specifically have a significant heat stability challenge for applications, such as cookies, with a baking process. Fortunately, the industry offers a variety of natural hues for baked goods, with unique innovations focused on overcoming some significant challenges due to thermal stability. Many cookie mixes are shades of beige or brown if the recipe has a cocoa component, but shades of brown are usually needed to standardize the final shade. Historically, caramel colors were the go-to for brown tones. But in recent years, Sensient has received many requests for alternate options. At Sensient, we have a platform of natural colors as an alternative to caramel color, whose range of tones goes from a golden tone to a deep brown shade.

Inspire your next innovation with some of our beautiful brown shade ideas using our NatBrown natural color technology

GINGER CINNAMON COOKIE

MOCHA COOKIE

CHAI COOKIE

See a shade you’d like to try? Tell us here.

In addition, our technical team is always available to help you overcome any natural color challenge. Please feel free to schedule a meeting with us.

Contact us, we love to talk about color!