Cola is one of the most popular drinks in the world, yet few people know where its flavor comes from, save for some research. Cola's color is different from many other soda colors and may change when you add or remove some ingredients. To ensure consistency and quality in your cola batches, it's important to know these five things:
The color of cola is unique in that it's unlike orange, ginger, or fruit colors. It doesn't derive from a well-known fruit, so a layperson cannot easily identify the origin of the flavor. Getting the caramel color right during production takes some trial and error, and you may experiment with different outcomes.
Cola's unique attribute is that it can have different colors when exposed to light or examined in a glass, which range anywhere from green or red to yellow-green. These variations make accurate color testing essential for maintaining consistency.
Like the well-known Coca-Cola brand, a cleverly composed cola color could help your brand stand out. This aspect is important because you can control the amount of colorant you add to your soft drink, allowing you to create a color unique to your enterprise.
The brown, golden syrup color of cola comes from caramel coloring. Because the coloring is an artificial additive, it is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for health and safety reasons. You should be familiar with the FDA regulations to know how much coloring you can add while staying compliant.
Consumers have the last say here, as the color of cola should be appealing and evoke certain emotions. It's no secret that the Coca-Cola company set the standard in soft drinks and cola beverages. Being unique is good, but emulating the same memories and feelings that Coke inspires in customers can go a long way to drive your sales. A pale cola product may not have that same effect.
Because cola can vary in color and has several unique shades, accurate color testing is vital. You can only achieve consistent cola color batches during production when you get precise measurements from a spectrophotometer. With fast and reliable spectrophotometers, we at HunterLab provide you with the best color measurement solutions.
Explore our Vista model for measuring the haze and transmission of colas, or complete our online form for more information.
Mr. Phillips has spent the last 30 years in product development and management, technical sales, marketing, and business development in several industries. Today, he is the global market development manager for HunterLab, focused on understanding customer needs, providing appropriate solutions and education, and helping to solve customer color challenges across these industries and cultures.LinkedIn