Shades of meaning: EXBERRY® Colouring Foods supplier GNT unveils trailblazing Power of Colour research

Moving beyond the traditional annual colour forecast, GNT has launched groundbreaking research that empowers food and beverage brands to devise tailormade solutions for the modern market.

The growth of the personalization and customization trends is fueling demand for products that appeal to shoppers on a deeper level. Building on more than 40 years’ experience, GNT has developed ‘The Power of Colour’ to help brands create colouring solutions that will connect with their target consumers.

The research combines consumer psychology and semiotics to deliver unique insights into how color generates meaning across products, brands, and categories, enabling manufacturers to create powerful stories and stand out in their category.

Maartje Hendrickx, Market Development Manager at GNT, said: “It’s clear that a one-size-fits-all approach to colour is rapidly becoming outdated. As a service provider, innovation has always been in our DNA and this trailblazing project enables us to help customers find the cutting-edge colouring solutions they need to strengthen their market position and reach new audiences.”

Created alongside professional semioticians, The Power of Colour explores the many ways in which colour sends out messages on a conscious and subconscious level.

For an inside-out perspective, it uses psychology to explore consumer motivations. It examines the tensions that drive product and brand choices, such as the desire for pleasurable yet permissible food and drink.

The second phase uses semiotics to provide an outside-in perspective, showing how colour can help to deliver on these motivations and needs.

Colour codes and cues create a variety of meanings across different cultures, categories, and situations. For example, colour can indicate how to navigate situations and guide decision-making, as in the case of food nutrition labels. It can also signal personal identity, whether through fashion, cosmetics, or even food and drink. Colours evoke moods and emotions, too – red is seen as an energizing shade, for instance, while yellow is associated with joy.

Together, these two perspectives allow brands to build a comprehensive understanding of how colour can be used to cater to different consumer needs and create a compelling narrative.

Jill Janssen, GNT’s Power of Colour lead, said: “Colour can send out any number of messages about brands and products. It might signal a moment of blissful escapism, tell stories about origins and process, showcase powerful ingredients, or help to highlight healthy formulations. The Power of Colour helps brands think about colour in a new way, delving deeper than ever before into its cultural power while also exploring the psychology behind colour trends.”