New blends target the functionality of natural colorants

The transformation of meat's color from raw red to mouthwatering brown has long tantalized taste buds. Now, this change isn't just for meat anymore. Oterra, the world's leading producer of natural colorants, has unveiled red and pink blends for plant-based meat alternatives that mimic this appetizing shift when heated. Imagine your plant-based burger turning that perfect shade of savory brown, rivaling its meaty counterpart in visual appeal. Welcome to the future of plant-based cuisine, where the look is just as delicious as the taste.

Oterra, the world’s largest natural color company, offers a range of natural and clean label colors. With over 1,200 employees across 30 countries and 14 production sites, Oterra serves products to more than 120 markets. The company's origins date back to 1874 with Chr. Hansen. Oterra was established as an offshoot with a new focus on natural colors, following the development of an orange colorant for cheese. To maintain Chr. Hansen’s primary product focus, Oterra was officially founded in April 2021.

Oterra's product portfolio is extensive, featuring all-natural bases. As part of their operations, Oterra sources and utilizes raw materials to create natural colors for a wide range of food, beverage, and pet products globally. Their aim is to add value across the entire supply chain, contributing to the development of resilient agricultural systems and efficient production processes, from raw material sourcing to the end consumer. By maximizing color yield per unit of raw material, Oterra aligns with its sustainability goals. This allows them to offer natural colorants representing the full spectrum of the rainbow for various food and beverage applications.

Producing these colorants is akin to a juice-making process. The roots are transported from the fields to the factory, where they are cleaned. Mud is returned to the fields, and water is filtered and reused. The roots are then peeled and mashed into juice, which is subsequently concentrated and standardized for strength. For minimally processed colors, the entire raw material must be concentrated, without selectively concentrating any individual pigments. Next, the solids are collected and blended with the soil. Raw materials are selected based on the stability of the color and minimal flavor impact, as any remaining flavor would become noticeable after concentration, potentially affecting the taste of the final food product.

For Oterra, future food trends focus on the simplicity of food coloring. Currently, consumers favor simply labeled food products, making natural colors ideal for simplifying ingredient labels. To meet this demand, Oterra continually develops new natural colorants, guided by market demand and emerging trends. Their innovation team, encompassing R&D, application, and legal aspects, ensures that new colorants are both effective and compliant. Compliance is important as each region has its own requirements not only in terms of the colorant, but also where and how they can be used. Any colorant Oterra recommends needs to abide by these local rulesThese natural colorants can be used in various food and beverage products, catering to consumers who prefer clean label products.

In response to trends in plant-based foods, Oterra has developed and launched new red and pink coloring blends specifically for plant-based meat and seafood alternatives. These blends contain pigments that change color from red to brown when heated, mimicking the cooking process of meat while maintaining enough color to enhance the base product, such as the beige hue of soy-based proteins. This development prioritizes functionality over mere coloring effect. Oterra is also working on creating new blends for other animal-derived product alternatives like fish, cheese and deli meat substitutes.

The development of natural colorants targeting functionality creates familiarity between new plant-based alternative products and the consumer. Phillip Cook suggests that recreating a familiar phenomenon within an unknown product can aid in persuading hesitant consumers to try and purchase plant-based alternatives. Phillip Cook illustrated this by stating, ‘The unknown is scary’. Hence, multifunctional natural colorants can contribute to a successful product launch by creating a familiar product for the consumer.

Oterra will continue to prioritize the development of multifunctional natural colorants over monofunctional ones. This strategy enables the creation and production of new naturally colored foods while maintaining a familiar appearance.

For further information on Oterra contact:

Farah Raghed

Head of Communications

Farah.ragheb@oterra.com

+45 52 28 20 50

For Danish: Oterra (lf.dk)