Company: GNT Group

Website: www.exberry.com

Ingredient Snapshot: ‘Shades of Aqua’ will be the key food & beverage color trend for 2020, with vivid blues and greens set to drive innovation as shoppers seek products that re-connect them with nature.

The forecast has been made by GNT Group, supplier of EXBERRY Coloring Foods, which says that demand for Shades of Aqua will also be powered by a quest for holistic wellbeing¹ and demand for new and unique food & beverage experiences that will pop out when shared on social media.

Maartje Hendrickx, GNT’s market development manager, commented: “Shades of Aqua evoke marine environments and mountain landscapes, conveying a sense of health and wholesomeness and strong links with the outdoors. Green is rooted in nature. It is a positive identifier for nutrition and signifies freshness and organic goodness. Blue evokes the ocean garden. It conveys a sense of relaxation and calm and is impactful on social media.”

To enable food and beverage companies to harness the appeal of Shades of Aqua, GNT has developed a range of green and blue EXBERRY Coloring Foods with clean-label appeal. They are made from spirulina, an algae that contains phycocyanin, a naturally occurring coloring component. They are the perfect replacement for artificial colorants, including brilliant blue and patent blue, and other additives such as copper chlorophyllin.

Shades of Aqua Coloring Foods will be at the heart of GNT’s new Love Color with EXBERRY initiative for 2020. They will also be a primary focus at Food Ingredients Europe, which takes place from 3-5 December 2019 in Paris, France. GNT will exhibit on Stand 6C80.

Maartje Hendrickx added: “Shoppers want food & beverage products that are ‘clean’ and ‘simple’.² EXBERRY Coloring Foods are aligned with this because they are made using only physical processes and never with chemical solvents. They aren’t additives – they’re foods. They can be eaten at any stage of the manufacturing process and they qualify for cleaner and simpler label declarations.”

GNT’s food & beverage color prediction is aligned with the influential Pantone color forecast, which also places greens and blues center-stage.³ Pantone’s forecast singles out Nature Remastered – “mossy wild and yellowy greens” – and Mineral Patina – “Indigo dyes seep and stain textiles with tones of blues.”

¹ Innova Market Insights’ Top Trends for 2020
² Innova Market Insights, Clean & Simple, July 2019
³ Pantone, Viewpoint Colour Issue 05 Organic Matters: Colour Forecast 2020