Prinova, Carol Stream, IL, a supplier of ingredients, flavors and value-added nutrient fortification products, has partnered with Orange, NJ-based Lycored. Prinova will be the exclusive distributor of Lycored’s lycopene- and beta carotene-based natural colors in the U.S. and Canada.
 
This partnership comes at a time when North American food and beverage companies are scrambling to find natural, consistent clean label solutions. Major players such as Kraft, Panera and Subway are just a few of the companies that are reformulating products to remove artificial ingredients. One of their biggest priorities is removing artificial colors and synthetic food dyes from their product lines. Consumers continue to drive this clean label demand. According to Mintel data, over a third of U.S. consumers have indicated they are interested in “free-from artificial color” claims. And, that number grows even higher when looking at specific demographic groups—for instance, 43% of millennial moms and 31% of millennial dads are interested in free- from artificial color claims.

Larry Davis, commercial director, food & beverage, Prinova said, “The clean label trend continues to drive formulation in our industry. Customers are removing synthetic and carmine based colors from their labels, and we needed to find anaturally sourced, vertically integrated, trusted supplier partner that could meet this customer demand. We are excited that this new partnership with Lycored will allow us to provide high performing lycopene- and beta carotene-based natural colors to the marketplace. Customers will quickly see the benefit from the combination of Prinova’s applications expertise, Lycored’s technical support and the value of Prinova’s distribution network.”
 
Thomas Adler, VP food division, Lycored said, “Lycored has been the global leader in natural carotenoids for more than twenty years. Our high performing natural colors are the ideal clean label solution for food and beverage manufacturers transitioning from artificial to natural colors. We are pleased to have a strong partner in Prinova—and the ability to combine our natural color line with their strong application capabilities and great relationships with key players—so that we can help meet this industry need in the U.S. and Canadian marketplace.”
 
Mr. Davis added, “This partnership means we are now able to offer a total start-to-finish clean label concept from an applications standpoint. Having a product portfolio that includes natural flavors, natural colors, natural sweeteners and a multitude of other naturally derived fine ingredients, we are in the perfect position to meet our customers’ product development needs.”
 
Mr. Adler said, “Lycored’s natural products are a great clean label solution for manufacturers. Our red and pink shades can provide stable alternatives to artificial colors like Red 3, and natural betacarotene can be incorporated as an alternative to artificial colors such as Yellow 5 or to replace synthetic betacarotenes.”
 
The Lycored natural color line includesTomat-O-Red and Lyc-O-Beta natural red, orange and yellow colorings. Manufacturers can achieve the authentic appearance desired in their products, time after time. Tomat-O-Red is created using tomato derived lycopene and offers a more technically sound red coloring alternative to unstable beetroot and anthocyanins, and also carmine, which is not vegetarian-friendly. Lyc-O-Beta is sourced from Blakeslea trispora, a beta-carotene-rich, allergen-free natural fungus cultivated by Lycored. Both color ranges are available in liquid form, and Lyc-O-Beta is also available as a water-soluble powder. They are approved for use as food colorants in the EU, U.S., Japan and Australia. They are also certified Kosher and Halal, non-GMO, and vegetarian, and are heat, light and pH stable.