The Role of Color in Humanized Pet Treats
Pet Treats Are Looking Awfully Similar to Human Foods
Last December, Sensient Colors’ President, Mike Geraghty, wrote about the humanization of pet trends and made five predictions for the coming years including…
While we are only halfway through 2017, prediction number one “Ongoing Innovation in Pet Snacking” has really been taken to new heights. If you have been following the latest pet treat/snack options on the market, then you know todays’ pets are no longer in the dog house, they are (figuratively speaking) in the dining room feasting on chicken pot pie, sweet potato fries, peanut butter and honey baked goods, rawhide lollipops and topping it all off with some holiday cookies.
The Role of Color in Humanized Pet Treats and Snacks
As pet owners endear their pets more like children, it’s not surprising pet treat innovation is pulling visual inspiration from human snacks. Similar to kid-friendly snacks on the market, color is playing an important role in new pet treat product development. Just as pet owners do for their own food purchases, they are also reading the ingredient lists of their pets’ food and expecting to see color from botanical sources.
Salmon Puffs for Cats
Concept: Pink fish-shaped extruded snacks with natural salmon flavor and color
The high heat associated with the extrusion process can cause browning in beet vegetable juices and color degradation with red anthocyanins
Stable options like red iron oxides, carmine or innovative heat-stable red vegetable juices like SupraRed™
Frosted Holiday Dog Cookie
Concept: Naturally colored yogurt coated, grain-free dog treat in holiday shapes
Water-soluble natural color powders do not disperse well throughout coatings, resulting in uneven and speckled color distribution
If the bone’s moisture content is high, water soluble colors will migrate and bleed towards the area of greater moisture concentration
Oil-dispersible natural color systems such as the Microfine™ technology
Beef and Cheese Taquito
Concept: Co-extruded, natural red and yellow cylindrical stick treat with natural beef flavor and real cheese
The high heat associated with the extrusion process can cause browning in red vegetable juices and color degradation with red anthocyanins
In co-extruded treats, if a water soluble color is used in one layer, and an oil soluble color in the other layer, the colors will migrate away from one another and bleed out
Calcium content in the cheese can cause pinking in yellow annattos
Stable options like red iron oxides, carmine or innovative heat-stable red vegetable juices like SupraRed™
A natural color system that encapsulates oil or water colors from migrating out like our Advanced Emulsion Technology (AET) with Beta-Carotenes and Turmeric
Stable natural yellows/oranges such as iron oxides and riboflavin
To mitigate pinking of annatto, it’s best to formulate with oil dispersible annatto solutions. Sensient’s portfolio of Microfines™ has many cheese shade options which can be added to the cheese mass prior to the introduction of the rennet
Have pet treat ideations of your own? Let’s talk about their colorful opportunity. You can request a consult at any time here or if you’re ready to start formulating, here’s a quick place to request color samples.
