Ingredients in Focus is Food Dive’s bite-size column highlighting interesting developments in the ingredients sector.
California Natural Color, a supplier of grape juice concentrates, natural colors and grape seed extract, expanded its portfolio with the launch of Pure Purple Butterfly Pea.
The new coloring agent helps food and beverage manufacturers achieve more vibrant blue and purple hues in their products, the company said.
The butterfly pea is native flower to Thailand. Its petals have no flavor or scent, making it an ideal ingredient for natural coloring.
“Before we launched this new product, our solution for formulators and developers for the blue food coloring was spirulina, and a lot of other suppliers offer the same thing,” Dana Osborn, a marketing manager at California Natural Color, said in an interview with Food Dive.
Spirulina is a blue-green algae containing vitamins, minerals and protein, but it cannot tolerate certain pH levels. This makes it difficult for manufacturers to work with.
A lot of the coloring ingredients California Natural Color offers are anthocyanin-based, a class of natural compounds that are commonly found in fruits and vegetables. These delicate ingredients are sensitive to food and beverage products that have a more acidic pH.
“A lot of manufacturers want that blue turquoise color, similar to the one products like Powerade have, but the beverage would have to be a low pH for coloring agents that are on the market right now,” said Osborn.
What makes the purple butterfly pea ingredient unique, she noted, is its ability to take on shades of vibrant purples and blues in applications with a pH greater than 4.0. At the same time, the company’s proprietary drying and crystal format allows the product to have a higher color concentration compared to alternatives on the market.
Pure butterfly purple pea’s crystal format saves manufacturers on supply chain costs. California Natural Color’s drying process also allows the crystals to be stored at ambient temperatures. Since they do not need to be refrigerated, manufacturers can save on freight costs. The ingredient also has exceptional stability against heat and light.
Osborn confirmed the company is talking with large beverage companies that sell products like carbonated drinks and teas about using its Pure Purple Butterfly Pea coloring agent.
“This is an up-and-coming ingredient, and there are some other color suppliers who have purple butterfly pea as part of their portfolio, but others come in either a liquid or powder form,” said Osborn, who emphasized the large potential the company sees for the application of the ingredient.