How would you like to live in a world where strawberry milkshakes aren’t pink, colas aren’t black, orange juices aren’t orange, and matcha teas aren’t green? It sounds like a dull parallel dimension, doesn’t it?
Aesthetics strongly influence customer choices, and beverages are no exception, especially when studies show that customers make their purchase decision in three to seven seconds. The colours added to a beverage can create a perception of the product’s flavour. Synthetic food colours can make a product look excessively vibrant. On the other hand, natural food colours can make a product seem more genuine and appealing to the customer’s eyes and taste buds.
Breaking Down Beverages
Beverage types and flavours have increased in number over time. But two broad categories of beverages can be seen as significantly different – those with alcohol and those without it. Moreover, there are numerous variants within each category with their unique background, characteristics, ingredients, flavours, and production methods.
Let’s dip in and take a brief look at each category:
The Future of Beverages
Given the beverage industry’s lengthy history, it’s not unexpected to find that it has seen numerous shifts across its vast timeline. The industry has continuously improved its operations, which has led to massive commercial success and profitability – across production, packaging, marketing, and distribution.
This is how the beverage market is projected to develop in the near future:
This growth is driven by the fact that the drink market is becoming more niche and segmented than ever before. The food processing industry is a big reason why the number of products is growing, and as the industry grows, the beverage industry is sure to follow suit. As beverage manufacturers ride this growth curve, it will become vital for the industry to shift to natural food colours, to echo customer demand for healthier alternatives.
Beverages and Their Connection to Colors
When it comes to anticipating a beverage’s expected taste and flavour, colour is the most crucial product-intrinsic sensory trigger. Numerous studies conducted in the lab have shown that altering the colour, brightness, or saturation of beverages can drastically change customers’ anticipations and, in turn, their experiences. And sometimes, the intensity of a beverage’s colour can flag it as a product formulated with synthetic food colours.
Some customers have strong feelings about synthetic food colours because of their reputation. They are more eager for products formulated naturally due to their many potential benefits. This puts beverage manufacturers in a position to decide early on what kinds of colourants they want to use. Here are some vital points to consider:
The Rise of Natural Sips
Many beverage manufacturers are now specifically formulating their new products to feature natural food colours.
Here are some natural sources to consider for colouring beverages:
Sip with Symega
Making any shift comes with challenges. But at Symega, with our years of expertise and formulation prowess, we excel in facilitating the addition of natural food colours to your brand’s beverages.
Here’s how we solve the challenges of taking this approach:
Our years of industry experience, combined with valuable contributions made by our skilled and expert team, make us at Symega aware of how colours interact with a combination of other components in a recipe across vast beverage categories, packaging types, and production methods. With meticulous formulation, we ensure that the colours of your beverages deliver an optimal performance that captures a one-of-a-kind sensory experience that is consistent, customized, and naturally vibrant.
To know more about Symega’s natural food colour alternatives, click here.
