Shades of Aqua swatch - © 2019 Exberry

Shades of Aqua: Brace Yourself For ‘Blue Food’

A leading international supplier of commercial food colourings is predicting that ‘Shades of Aqua’ will be the big, trending colour in the food world this coming year.  My first reaction was, I was taught that nothing humans are naturally intended to eat is naturally Blue in colour…

Shades of Aqua sample - © 2019 ExberryColoured Dried Apples: The ‘official’ image Exberry uses to
illustrate its news release about Shades of Aqua…

Blue, my mother taught me when I was very small, is the colour of mould. “Never eat Blue food,” she would remind me. No food under creation is naturally blue. Not even Blueberries. They’re actually just highly concentrated Red. You don’t have to trust me; just crush one between your fingers and see what colour comes out.

Nevertheless, Exberry, the food colourings branch of global food ingredient supplier GNT Group, has issued its official prediction of what the big colour trend in processed foods will be in 2020, and the colour is Blue. Well, to me moire accurate, it’s described by Exberry as ‘Shades of Aqua’. The company indicates its classification admits certain Green and even Yellowish shades to consideration. But I, personally, will insist that Green, in all its shades, is a colour unto itself – and what a healthy colour it is!

“The demand for Shades of Aqua will […] be powered by a quest for holistic well being and demand for new and unique food & beverage experiences that will pop out when shared on social media,” Exberry Marketing and Development Manager Maartje Hendrickx says, in a news release.

What’s the rationale?

“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,” Hendrickx explains.

So, now, social media acceptability is dictating what colour our food should be? But I digress…

Healthy, sustainable food colouring

“Shoppers want food & beverage products that are ‘clean’ and ‘simple’. EXBERRY Coloring Foods are aligned with this because they are made using only physical processes and never with chemical solvents,” says Hendrickx. “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.”

Exberry’s food colouring ingredients, “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”.

Everything’s coming up Blue in 2020

Seems Exberry took its cue in naming Shades of Aqua its food colour of the year from Pantone, then international commercial colour standard for printing inks and other products. According to Exberry’s news release, Pantone’s 2020 color forecast […] also places greens and blues center-stage. 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.”

But I’m still not convinced

I’ll still give the Blue food a pass, myself, though. I never touched the blue Popsicles when I was a kid, and I’ve stayed away from Blue food ever since. Okay… Maybe just one Blue-frosted Jelly Doughnut. Though I’d go for the chocolate dipped, if available, first…

~ Maggie J.