Food colours target vegan meat substitutes
The product comes from Israel-based Frutarom Natural Solutions – a food ingredients provider selling some 31,000 products in 145 countries.
Its addition to the big portfolio, Bright’n Free Red Rosy, is a vegan red colouring range designed for plant-based ‘meat’ producers, many of whom want to capture a share of rising demand for non-animal protein.
“We help food manufacturers develop meat analogue products by offering customised solutions of natural red colouring, enabling free-from and clean-label products that address a range of consumers who prefer to adopt healthier eating habits,” said Thierry Gay, technical sales director at Frutarom Natural Colours Europe.
Vegan food demand triples in three years
Six in 10 meat substitute products launched last year claimed to be vegan, according to Innova Market Insights. And with so many products making these clean-label claims, the demand for plant-based food colouring has risen by 22%.
Demand for vegan food has tripled between 2012 and 2016 and the market for meat substitute products made without animal-derived material has grown by 14% over the same period, according to Innova Market Insights.
Frutarom Natural Solutions’ range is made from a concentrate of squeezed plant juices naturally rich in the antioxidant pigment anthocyanin.
“The main challenge in colouring plant-based meat analogues is to find the right balance between heat-stability and maintaining the desired shade of colour,” added Gay.
“Most existing natural solutions are based on red beet colours, which are not the typical red consumers expect in meat substitutes.”
Using a natural source of anthocyanin that is less sensitive to pH, Frutarom Natural Solutions said it had found an ingredient that can add colour to vegans’ ‘meats’.
