Innovative food colouring specialist Oterra has moved to unveil two naturally-sourced liquid versions of its popular Jungle Blue and Arctic Blue ranges that are used within confectionery, writes Neill Barston.

The Danish-headquartered business, which has been a regular exhibitor at key shows around the world including ISM, FIE and Gulfood Manufacturing, has continued on a strong track of expanding its portfolio.

As the firm explained, its two products, previously available as powders, give food and beverage producers a choice of formats to achieve natural bright blues, and a palette of greens and purples when blended.

“Liquids have many properties that make them a powerful addition to applications in food and beverage,” said Phil Cook, Head of Strategic Marketing. “They disperse immediately to create a uniform color without the need for pre-mixing. They are also easier to handle as they are pumpable and don’t create dust when processing.”

The two liquid blues are a further development of two of Oterra’s most recent innovations in creating blue colors from natural sources: Jungle Blue, extracted from sustainable Colombian Jagua fruit, and Arctic Blue, made using spirulina in a carbon-neutral indoor production facility.

Blue is one of the fastest growing colors in 2025, over 10,000  food and beverage products were launched containing a blue color, up from around 6,000 in 2021.

“Traditionally, much of the blue that we see in food and beverages has come from artificial sources,” added Phil Cook. “The regulatory and consumer landscape is changing and the demand for naturally derived blues is increasing. To meet this demand, having multiple blues in different formats is important for manufacturers.”

For its part, ColorFruit Blue 901 WS Jungle Blue fills an important gap in naturally sourced blues. Many natural blues struggle with low pH, heat, regulatory limits, or high cost. Jungle Blue offers a stable, reliable alternative that also blends beautifully to create vivid jewel‑tone purples and greens.

Meawhile, FruitMax Blue 1512 WS Arctic Blue is spirulina from Iceland using an innovative high-tech cultivation process that creates a vivid, natural blue color with an impressively low carbon footprint. Located next to a geothermal power plant that provides 100% clean energy, waste heat and carbon dioxide, bioreactors grow spirulina 24 hours a day.