Natural color solutions can provide food and beverage manufacturers with an edge over their competitors. By removing artificial colors, manufacturers can meet the demands of 54% of consumers worldwide who want their food and drinks to be colored with natural ingredients only.

Alongside this, communicating their usage clearly on the label becomes increasingly important, as 67% of consumers consider easy to understand ingredient information essential when choosing groceries. Credible front of pack-claims give producers the potential to increase brand preference even when a price increase is applied. This is the result of a global consumer study which has been conducted by market research institute TNS and the GNT Group, a global provider of fruit and vegetable juice for colors. For the survey, 5,000 people from 10 countries in Asia, the Americas and Europe were interviewed.

The effect of promoting the use of all-natural solutions such as fruit and vegetable juice color on the front of pack has been examined in more detail: the claim “colored with fruit and vegetables“ is perceived as credible by more than 75% of consumers worldwide. It conveys positive product characteristics such as “is healthy,” “is safe” or “is 100 percent naturally produced” to more than two thirds of consumers.

The appeal of the claim depends on the product category. For food and beverages perceived as generally less natural, such as sweets or soft drinks, the claim “colored with fruit and vegetables“ is most suitable to uplift brand preference because it provides a clearly distinguishing message for consumers. In food categories with a more natural image, like yogurt, a negative claim that communicates a lack of artificial colors can be perceived equally well.

“It is highly important for food manufacturers to understand consumers’ reaction to labeling in order to choose the right claim for their products. With our survey, we can provide this information for different countries, consumer groups and product categories,” said Dr. Hendrik Hoeck, managing director of the GNT Group. “Like that, we can support manufacturers in benefitting optimally from using fruit and vegetable concentrates, a completely natural color solution made exclusively from edible raw materials. They can be applied to nearly every application and match artificial colors in terms of diversity, stability, shelf life and color brilliance.”