“We eat with our eyes” is common saying. That’s because the appearance of our foods and drinks plays an important role in product selection. In fact, experts suggest 75% of this assessment is on color alone.

Consumers are becoming more and more critical when buying food and beverages. Worries about negative effects of certain ingredients lead them to scrutinize more closely what they put on their plate. A TNS consumer study shows that additives are especially of concern for a large number of people around the world. At the top of their black list are preservatives as well as artificial colorants and sweeteners. Sixty percent of all consumers worldwide avoid these ingredients when choosing food and drink products. Consumers want to know where ingredients come from and understand what is in the products they eat. In the US, almost two-thirds of the respondents state that an easy to understand front of pack icon is influencing the purchase decision positively. Due to this a product that is “colored with fruit and vegetables” results in an increased brand preference as well as the willingness to pay more for that product.

“Consumers all around the world are increasingly conscious of the use of certain food additives. Whether it is about colors, flavors or preservatives – the call for natural alternatives is getting louder and wider. With our global consumer study, we want to unveil the true scope of this trend and help food manufacturers understand the demands of today’s consumers in detail,” says Jeannette O’Brien, vice president of GNT USA, Inc.

Even with today’s busy lifestyle where convenience is important, only 25% of consumers want to finish their shopping as soon as possible. Sixty-three percent, however, take their time and view shopping as an experience: browsing the aisles in order to find food products that fit their needs, both from a nutritional and ‘feel-good’ perspective. Therefor it is good to know that for 68% of the US respondents convenient, packaged foods can be natural.

“Combining the study’s comprehensive findings with our unique and longstanding experience in the field of natural color solutions, we can support our clients with all the knowhow that is necessary for them to benefit from the changing demands of consumers worldwide,” O’Brien says.

GNT is the leading global provider of cutting edge food and beverage ingredients made exclusively from fruits, vegetables and edible plants. With a focus on natural color solutions, GNT stands as the industry authority, providing innovative color solutions to the world’s most demanded food and beverage brands.

Founded in 1978 in Aachen, Germany, GNT has remained an independent, family run company with long-term focus in three key areas: growing high quality raw materials, optimizing physical processing technology and application know-how. A devotion to providing our customers with the highest quality ingredients and solutions has always been GNT’s driving force. With this in mind, GNT continues to offer innovative and versatile solutions that are so crucial to the rapidly developing global food and beverage industry.

With its EXBERRY® brand, GNT provides the widest range of coloring fruit and vegetable concentrates on the market. Using physical processing and no synthetic additives or organic solvents, EXBERRY® Natural Colors deliver a full range of colors solutions for food and beverages like confectionery, beverages, dairy products or pastries, while perfectly supporting a clean label strategy. GNT’s EXBERRY® products are colorful concentrates manufactured from fruits, vegetables and edible plants only.

With their longstanding application know-how, the GNT experts assist food and drink manufacturers in recipe development, choosing the best EXBERRY® Natural Color for their applications and its needs as well as regulatory advice.

To get more information on GNT and EXBERRY® Natural Colors, visit www.gnt-group.com and connect with industry experts.

TNS Study: The representative consumer survey interviewed 5,000 people aged 18-70 across ten markets all around the world: Brazil, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Poland, Spain, Thailand, the UK and the US. The quantitative online survey was conducted in December 2014 by TNS on behalf of the GNT Group. The questionnaire was developed on the basis of a qualitative pre-study that explored the thoughts and opinions of consumers in seven countries.