Why colour matters in food & drinks: the story behind Blue Blast

A product’s success is about more than flavour along. Long before consumers taste, they form expectations based on what they see. Colour shapes perceptions of taste, freshness and quality, making it one of the most powerful tools in food and drink development.

Colour sparks curiosity

Customers continue to be attracted to visually distinctive food and drink concepts. Compared to plain text, colours are often noticed first. But when something deviates from expectations, people like to know more. Unexpected colours spark questions on ingredients and taste, and invite consumers to discover something new.

Consumers eat with their eyes

Even before the first bite or sip, eating starts with the visual impression. This plays an important role in how consumers experience a product. Certain colours are subconsciously linked to certain ingredients, flavour profiles and emotions. For example, a conventional red smoothie is automatically linked to strawberries or raspberries, a sweet taste, comfort and happiness. And bright colours are seen as more flavourful, more fresh and more attractive.

Colours are therefore a powerful asset to support the desired product perception. Using colours that are rare in the food and drink landscape, such as bright blue, feels more creative and unique. And when such colours are positioned right this results into a more premium experience that customers will remember. This opens up the possibility to distinguish yourself from competitors, and automatically makes your products more likely to be shared on the world wide web.

Blue spirulina completes the rainbow

As mentioned before, bright blue remains rare and not something you would expect in a smoothie. Blue has been one of the most difficult colours to achieve in food and beverages. For years, product developers needed to rely heavily on synthetic blue dyes, simply because a natural, plant-based equivalent did not exist yet. Until blue spirulina came along.

Green spirulina has become a popular superfood, largely thanks to its nutritional value. As demand for naturally coloured food and drinks has grown, blue spirulina emerged as a natural source of vibrant blue colour. While still relatively unknow to the wider public, blue spirulina is often used by food producers to transform familiar products with its vibrant blue colour. It helps creating eye-catching products without changing the approachable flavour profile consumers already enjoy.

What is blue spirulina?

Blue spirulina is extracted from regular raw spirulina, the same algae that green spirulina is made of. There is, however, a difference between the two:

Green spirulina has a strong oceanic taste and is nutritionally complete, offering protein, vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll and phycocyanin. Adds a deep green colour to food.
Blue spirulina has a neutral flavour and only offers concentrated levels of phycocyanin level, known for its antioxidant properties. Adds a bright blue colour to food.

A smoothie that makes consumers look twice

Imagine a smoothie made from white peach, apple, pineapple, banana, and lime juice. Consumers would expect a yellow to orange colour, and a familiar tropical flavour, resulting in a fairly conventional smoothie experience. The smoothie tastes great, but visually it blends in with other traditional smoothies.

Now add blue spirulina. While the fruit still delivers the same delicious flavour, blue spirulina delivers the visual impact. The smoothie now grabs attention and creates curiosity. Consumers immediately start asking questions. What gives it that colour? What does it taste like? Is it something new? The unexpected blue shade transforms a familiar smoothie into a more memorable experience while standing out on a menu or shelf.

That is exactly what we did to make our Blue Blast stand out. The tropical fruit mix provides the flavour that consumer know and love, while the blue spirulina makes it shine out visually.

The Blue Blast is the perfect example of how a simple visual twist can turn a conventional smoothie into something customers want to discover, taste, and share.

Looking for new ways to bring colour to your menu?

Discover how the Blue Blast can help create eye-catching food and drink concepts.

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