CAPOL discusses the importance of colour association in confectionery and how they’re bringing vivid colours to consumers.
Confectionery that stands out – naturally!
People eat with their eyes first, which is why confections must look appealing and delicious at first sight. Colour plays an important role in the bright world of candy, and so does a glossy finish. As a specialist in both confectionery surface treatments and a unique natural colour technology, CAPOL can use its expertise to help manufacturers create marvellous confections naturally.
Bringing a rainbow of colours to confectionery
Colour plays a significant role in confectionery perception. It is one of the first factors that make us decide on the product’s appeal and it can enhance flavour. In confectionery, colours from natural sources have seen a major rise over recent years. Synthetic colours have largely been replaced with colour extracts from botanical sources. They usually perform like a dye and are by nature soluble in either water or oil.
Dissolve or disperse? Why solubility of colours matters
With natural colours, having the right expertise and the right technology for a specific application is important so the desired result can be achieved. A decisive factor here is solubility – the principle that similar things dissolve in similar things applies.
Water-soluble colours are not usually the best choice for colouring a matrix that is low in water but high in oil or fat content. Compound chocolate, frostings and icings as well as creams are fat-based applications commonly found in confectionery. Developers sometimes find spotting or incomplete mixing in the matrix if an incompatible natural colour is applied.
Colour extracts with a natural solubility in oil easily dissolve in fat-based matrices. However, they can tend to bleed into other fat-based media. Inclusions, toppings as well as layers of various colors are some applications where this can become particularly relevant.
Bright and stable colouring for fat-based matrices
Facing these challenges in the confectionery industry, CAPOL has developed and is constantly extending its unique line of natural colour pigments, called VIVAPIGMENTS®. It is a complete line of high-performing, naturally sourced pigments. A patented encapsulation technology using rice protein creates insoluble pigments that are easily dispersible in any kind of fat- or oil-based matrix.
They achieve bright, intense colours thanks to colouring by dispersion rather than by dissolution. The insolubility of these natural pigments also works against the problems of bleeding and fading in natural colours. In addition, the fact that VIVAPIGMENTS® come in both liquid and powder forms ensures ease of use in the application.
