The shift from synthetic to natural colors is exposing pressure points across agriculture, sourcing, manufacturing and retail, but a new roadmap from National Confectioners Association and research firm RTI International outlines how industry collaboration, infrastructure investment and regulatory clarity could ease the transition.
With FDA’s announcement last year to phase out certain petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the US food supply by 2028 or sooner, moving towards natural dyes is exposing the operational realities of rebuilding color supply chains at scale.
Even mass CPG brands like WK Kellogg and Mars which have established supply chains and R&D departments in place specifically for reformulation, are encountering significant reformulation and sourcing hurdles. These challenges reflect a new reality where the transition to natural colors is not a simple ingredient swap, but an industry-wide recalibration.
New technologies emerge as supply constraints intensify
Supply chains have struggled to keep pace with rising demand for natural colors, particularly as manufacturers seek alternatives that can deliver comparable performance, consistency and cost. To offset supply constraints and higher ingredient costs, companies increasingly are optimizing formulations with complementary ingredients and taste modulators that help maintain product quality while stretching the use of more expensive natural inputs.
At the same time, the natural color movement is creating opportunities for new supply chains and technologies. Startups such as Sparxell and Michroma are developing alternatives that could help alleviate some of the industry’s sourcing pressures. Sparxell uses a patented cellulose-based technology to create a range of colors without conventional pigments, while Michroma leverages fermentation and fungi-derived pigments to produce high-performance colorants at scale. These innovations are particularly relevant as natural colors often require significantly higher usage rates than synthetic dyes, placing additional strain on agricultural production and ingredient supplies.
The risk of moving too fast from synthetic to natural
The challenge extends well beyond ingredient sourcing. According to a recent report from the National Confectioners Association and research firm RTI International, “replacing synthetic food dyes is not simply an ingredient substitution. It is a systemwide supply chain transformation.” Researchers found that ingredient availability, reformulation, shelf life, product performance, packaging, manufacturing, storage and transportation are all interconnected, meaning constraints in one area can quickly ripple across the entire food system.
For example, the report found that many non-FD&C colorants remain heavily dependent on imports and geographically concentrated supply chains. Annatto, butterfly pea flower and saffron-derived colorants are sourced overwhelmingly from a small number of countries, exposing manufacturers to climate risks, geopolitical disruptions and quality concerns. At the same time, domestic production faces obstacles including low pigment yields, limited processing infrastructure and the need for long-term grower commitments.
In one scenario modeled by RTI, demand for non-FD&C colorants could rise to as much as four times current levels if the industry rapidly transitions away from synthetic dyes. Under these conditions, average colorant prices could increase by more than 1,000%, with increased imports serving as the primary lever for meeting demand because domestic agricultural production cannot scale quickly enough. The report concludes that supply constraints are likely to be felt most acutely in agriculture, sourcing and ingredient processing rather than at the retail level.
Building a more resilient supply chain
Yet the report also emphasizes that a successful transition is possible if stakeholders coordinate efforts to build a more resilient supply chain over the next three years and beyond. Rather than focusing on a single bottleneck, RTI recommends a coordinated approach built around four priorities: regulatory alignment, realistic transition timelines, shared communication across the supply chain, and stronger quality and safety management systems.
Among its recommendations, policymakers should establish clear national standards and provide greater regulatory certainty around labeling and compliance requirements. Industry stakeholders are encouraged to create a coordinating body that can assess domestic production opportunities, identify research and infrastructure needs, develop transition playbooks and facilitate communication across the value chain. The report also calls for investments in domestic feedstock production, contract farming, extraction and processing infrastructure, and emerging technologies such as precision fermentation to improve supply resiliency.
Food manufacturers, meanwhile, are encouraged to prioritize easier reformulations first, secure long-term supplier agreements and begin consumer testing early. Suppliers should diversify sourcing regions and invest in next-generation color technologies, while distributors and retailers should coordinate inventory transitions, educate consumers and implement handling practices that minimize waste and compliance risks. Collectively, the recommendations highlight that the industry’s ability to transition to natural colors will depend not only on innovation, but on unprecedented collaboration across the supply chain.
