Sensient accelerates natural color production to fuel shift from synthetic dyes
As American food and beverage companies race to eliminate synthetic dyes from their products, one of the country’s leading ingredients suppliers is making a landmark bet on the future of natural colors.
USA – Sensient Food Colors, a division of Sensient Technologies officially celebrated the commencement of a major expansion at its largest natural color plant, located in St. Louis, Missouri.
The expansion, dubbed Project Prism, is one of many capital investments planned by Sensient to support the food and beverage industry’s rapid transition away from artificial colors in the United States.
The expansion is expected to add 28,800 square feet of space to the company’s existing 500,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and is part of broader plans to invest approximately US$250 million to expand perceived-as-natural color manufacturing capacity, supply chain, and personnel.
The St. Louis plant expansion is being carried out in partnership with engineering firm Burns & McDonnell.
Last May, Sensient Technologies accelerated its investments in naturally sourced colours while reducing its focus on synthetic colours.
The scale of investment reflects just how significant the commercial opportunity has become. Sensient CEO Paul Manning said in a February earnings call that natural color conversion activity is still in the early stages, but food companies are starting to move “aggressively,” creating a major opportunity for the ingredients provider.
“This conversion to natural colors is the single largest opportunity in the company’s history,” he said.
Sensient’s natural color business has seen soaring growth within the past year, and the company is quickly increasing its capabilities as it targets US$1 billion in sales within the segment.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by distinguished guests, including Missouri Lieutenant Governor David Wasinger and the President and CEO of the Regional Business Council of St. Louis, Karen Branding.
Steve Morris, President of Sensient Colors, underscored the company’s ambitions. “Sensient has taken a defining role in accelerating the industry’s transition to natural color solutions. We are reinforcing our leadership position by making significant investments in capacity and infrastructure to facilitate the natural color conversion in the United States. The groundbreaking ceremony marks a pivotal milestone in our mission to better serve customers and lead this industry-wide change,”
The expansion comes against a backdrop of sweeping industry-wide reformulation.
General Mills is eliminating certified color additives from all US cereals by this summer, while Kraft Heinz will remove all traces of synthetic dyes from its US portfolio by the end of 2027.
Campbell’s has also pledged to no longer produce any food or beverages with synthetic colors by the second half of the 2026 fiscal year.
Other industry players in the move to eliminate synthetic dyes include Mars, Grupo Bimbo, Utz Brands, Rise Baking and the American Bakers Association (ABA).
Sensient’s bold investment positions it squarely at the center of this nationwide transformation.
As food manufacturers race to meet clean-label targets by early 2027, Sensient’s ramp-up in St. Louis is expected to reach full operational capacity by the fourth quarter of 2026.
Sign up to HERE receive our email newsletters with the latest news and insights from Africa and around the world, and follow us on our WhatsApp channel for updates.
