Caramel Colour Replacement in Beverages: A Guide to Clean Label Colour with Malt Extract

Drinkers show rising interest in natural ingredients, whilst beverage markets adopt ever increasing uses of clean label colour.

For decades, caramel colour has been the industry standard for delivering the rich amber, copper, brown, and dark tones consumers expect in beer, soft drinks, iced teas, coffees, and flavoured beverages.

Colouring ingredients now have a more complex list of demands, they must satisfy health and nutritional needs, legal requirements, meet natural and clean label claims, all whilst delivering an precise match for the distinct amber, copper, red, brown hues beverage scientists have crafted for global and regional brands.

Public health nonprofit NSF identifies in the US that 83% of consumers read food labels before making a purchase decision with 64% paying more attention now than they did 5 years ago. This scrutiny of back of pack, product claims and ingredient declarations emphasise the pressure producers are under to remove or limit ingredients that can be perceived as artificial or highly processed.

For beverage scientists, brewers, and procurement teams, the challenge to meet this demand is significant.

How do you maintain colour consistency and shelf appeal while reducing reliance on caramel colour?

Tackling this multi-faceted challenge requires precise colour trimming, balancing natural colour ingredients with existing ingredients and integrating seamlessly with production methods

Malt-based colouring solutions are an option in high demand from brands beginning to reformulate.

Key Drivers Replacing Caramel Colour

Caramel colour is extensively used, supported by it’s effectiveness in beverages. However, key drivers including changing consumer preferences are pushing brands to explore alternatives.

• Clean Label Expectations - Consumers increasingly favour ingredient lists they recognise and understand. Ingredients derived from familiar food sources often support stronger clean label positioning than perceived synthetic, artificial or highly processed colouring systems.

• Brand Differentiation - Authentic ingredients help reinforce premium positioning. A brewer using roasted malt extract or a cola brand using malt-derived colour can communicate a more natural story than one relying on E150 caramel colour.

• Future-Proofing Product Portfolios - Brands that proactively develop cleaner formulations are better positioned to respond to future retailer requirements and evolving market trends.

• Regulatory Pressures - Government regulations and scrutiny increasingly contributes to the formulation of beverage brands, the European Union and some States in the US have made recommendations to support some manufacturers pursuing clean label claims to replace caramel colour.

Why Malt Extract Is Uniquely Positioned for Caramel Replacement

The colour is developed through carefully controlled malting and roasting processes, creating naturally occurring colour compounds alongside flavour-active components.

This provides several advantages.

• Authentic Colour Development - Malt extracts deliver rich golden, amber, reddish-brown, and dark brown shades that look inherently natural within beverage systems.

• Clean Label Credentials -  Malt extracts can support ingredient declarations that align with clean label objectives while contributing both functionality and provenance.

• Excellent Processing Compatibility - Malt colouring extracts can be incorporated into brewing, beverage blending, syrup preparation, and finished-product standardisation processes.

• Proven Beverage Performance - Malt-based colouring solutions are already used successfully across:

  • Beer including NAB and LAB

  • Tea and coffee beverages
  • Malt beverages
  • And more!

How Malt Extract Replaces Caramel Colour in Beverages

The optimal product and dosage depend on the beverage category, target colour, process conditions, and formulation objectives.

The following guidance provides a starting point for development work.

Applications

Beer and NAB/LAB

Addition rate guidance

• REX ~ 0.013 kg/hl

• RL20 ~ 0.008 kg/hl
• RB1500/40 ~ 0.006 kg/hl
• RB1500/45 ~ 0.006 kg/hl

These highly concentrated solutions enable brewers to fine-tune colour with minimal process disruption while maintaining product consistency across batches.

Soft Drinks (Colas)

Addition rate guidance

• RL20 ~ 0.5-1.0%

• RB1500/40 ~ 0.3-0.7%
• RB1500/45 ~ 0.2-0.6%

For cola-style beverages, malt extracts can deliver the dark visual profile consumers expect while supporting cleaner ingredient positioning.

Iced Teas and Coffee Beverages

Addition rate guidance

• RL20 ~ 0.5 - 1.0%

• RB1500/40 ~ 0.3-0.7%
• RB1500/45 ~ 0.2-0.6%

Malt-derived colour can help standardise appearance, compensate for natural raw material variation, and create a richer visual profile.

Tea and Coffee Product Concentrates

Addition rate guidance

• RL20, RB1500/45, RB1500/40 ~ 1-5%

Higher usage levels can be employed in concentrate systems where deeper colour development is required before dilution.

Note: Actual dosage rates will vary depending on formulation, desired colour intensity, processing conditions, and regional labelling requirements. Bench-scale validation is recommended.

Selecting the Right Malt Colour Solution

Every beverage presents unique formulation challenges.

Factors to consider include:

• Current caramel colour dosage

• Target EBC or SRM colour
• Beverage pH
• Processing temperature
• Shelf-life requirements
• Desired flavour neutrality
• Labelling objectives

A technical evaluation helps identify which PureMalt solution delivers the best balance of colour performance, flavour impact, and commercial viability.

From Colour Replacement to Brand Advantage

The most successful reformulation projects do more than remove an ingredient.

They create a stronger product story.

Replacing caramel colour with malt-derived solutions can help brands:

• Support clean label initiatives

• Improve ingredient transparency
• Maintain visual appeal
• Meet retailer and consumer expectations
• Reinforce authenticity claims
• Differentiate premium beverage offerings

For beverage developers, the opportunity goes beyond colour replacement.

It is an opportunity to transform colour from a functional necessity into a consumer-facing benefit.

Start Your Caramel Replacement Project with PureMalt

Whether you're reformulating a beer, developing a premium cola, optimising an alcohol-free beverage, or creating adjusting a tea or coffee drink, PureMalt's technical team can help identify the correct malt-derived colouring solution for your application.

Ready to evaluate a clean-label alternative to caramel colour?

Contact PureMalt to discuss your formulation goals, request a sample, and begin building a colour strategy that meets both technical requirements and consumer expectations.

Start your project today at PureMalt.com.

FAQs Beverage Scientists Face in Reformulating with Malt-Based Colour

Colour replacement projects often raise understandable technical concerns.

"Will We Be Able to Match Our Existing Colour?"

In most applications, colour targets can be achieved through careful selection of malt extract type and dosage rate.

The PureMalt colour calculator is a useful tool for targeting a particular colour with malt extract.

A structured bench trial approach allows formulation teams to optimise colour while evaluating flavour impact and processing compatibility.

"Will It Affect Flavour?"

Modern concentrated malt colouring extracts such as RB1500/40 and RB1500/45 are designed to provide significant colour contribution at low to minimal flavour impact.

Many applications achieve the desired colour impact with minimal flavour contribution.

Where flavour enhancement is beneficial, malt extracts can add subtle roasted, toasted, or malty notes that complement the beverage profile, such as REX and RL20.