The food and beverage industry is in the middle of a meaningful transition away from petroleum-based synthetic colors. Recent FDA enforcement discretion around “no artificial colors” claims has created new flexibility — but it has also surfaced an important question for many teams:
Are we actually ready to make this change, or just aware that it’s coming?
For some organizations, natural color conversion is already underway. For others, it’s still early — a topic being monitored rather than actively addressed. And for many, readiness depends less on regulatory intent and more on practical realities like formulation stability, flavor impact, cost targets, or supply chain constraints.
At Imbibe, we work with R&D and brand teams navigating these tradeoffs every day across beverages, dairy alternatives, and functional systems.
That’s why we created a short Natural Color Readiness Assessment.
Take the Natural Color Readiness Assessment
This is a quick, practical way to help teams understand where complexity is most likely to surface based on their current product systems and priorities — whether that’s sensory performance, shelf life, scalability, or operational readiness.
In just a few questions, the assessment helps you:
- Clarify your current stage of readiness
- Identify which tradeoffs may matter most for your products
- See how your challenges compare to what other teams are encountering
Once completed, you’ll receive a brief summary highlighting your readiness profile and what that typically means as teams evaluate natural color alternatives.
If you’re exploring this shift — or expect it to become relevant soon — this is a useful place to start.
If you’re looking for a deeper breakdown of the FDA update itself, we’ve covered that separately.
