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Sensient Food Colors has unveiled a new clean label alternative to the synthetic FD&C Blue 1 dye, amid rising demand for natural colour solutions.

The launch follows the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s announcement this January that FD&C Red 3 will no longer be an approved colour additive, with the ban set to come into effect in 2027 across the US.

This shift away from artificial colours and other additives is expected to continue gaining traction in the US, with the country’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr calling on major food companies to eliminate artificial dyes from their products by the end of his term in 2029.

FD&C Blue 1 has long been a popular choice for bright blue hues across various food and beverage applications, with Mintel data showing that beverage launches using Blue 1 have more than doubled over the past five years with consistent year-over-year increases.

With many manufacturers looking to reformulate to meet clean label demand, Sensient said the industry needs a low pH, water-stable and light-stable natural alternative to Blue 1. It aims to address this with its new Marine Blue Capri colour, said to provide a bright and clear blue in low pH beverage applications that could be combined with yellows or reds to achieve greens or purples.

Claimed to be the ‘first-of-its-kind,’ the solution is the newest member of Sensient’s spirulina-based Marine Blue colour portfolio. It is suitable for a wide range of beverages with acidic conditions, designed for optimal performance in RTD applications like carbonated soft drinks, juices, flavoured waters, low-ABV alcoholic beverages and more.

Flavour profiles like blueberry, blue raspberry, grape, mint, lime, green apple, kiwi, melon, mojito and blackberry could all benefit from the new solution, which Sensient confirmed could also see improved success in low pH salad dressings and similar condiments, compared to standard spirulina and other blues.

According to Sensient, Marine Blue Capri exhibits minimal precipation in end products and can provide ‘an answer long needed’ by beverage producers, offering unique advantages compared with other solutions.

For example, butterfly pea flower extract offers bold blues in higher pH conditions but is purple in low pH solutions. Sensient has developed other spirulina-based solutions for bright blues in different applications, such as Marine Blue for increased stability and Blue Microfine for dry mixes, oil-based applications and dispersions.

The company said its R&D team will continue to ‘close gaps in the natural rainbow’ with novel colour sources and technological innovation.