Sensient Colors hosted a trade media day at its St. Louis facility on Dec. 11, 2013, to showcase the company’s latest technologies and its recent facility expansion. In mid-2013, Sensient Colors opened its 24,000-square-foot natural colors facility, which qualifies the space as the largest natural colors facility in the country, according to the company. The new space allows Sensient to expand its natural colors capabilities and manufacturing efficiencies.

 Among the beverage color technologies highlighted at the event were multiple options for closing the gap between natural color science and certified color technology, boosting productivity and efficiency, and staying on the cutting edge of innovation. For example, its AccuPak technology, which launched last May, is a pre-weighed color delivery system that contains the precise amount of natural or certified color for a specific beverage formulation in order to ensure batch-to-batch consistency. The bag containing the color dissolves quickly and completely in water as an incidental ingredient that does not require additional labeling, thus adding efficiency to the coloring process. On the natural colors front, Sensient also offers a stable natural blue color that is suitable for beverage applications. This color solution fills a gap in the natural color spectrum and can be used to produce blue, green and purple shades, the company says. To further bridge the gap between natural and certified colors, the company offers its Microfine technology. This aluminum-free natural color line simulates a synthetic lake and can deliver color in fat-based systems. Suitable for dry-mixed beverages, the system can deliver a range of colors, including natural blues and greens, prevent clumping, and aid in color incorporation to further increase productivity and accuracy, it adds.