Pantone’s Color of the Year, Viva Magenta 18-1750, vibrates with vim and vigor. According to F&B suppliers, the color represents self-expression, freedom of taste and speaks with consumers on a personal level. 

Viva Magenta is a deep and fierce shade rooted in nature, descending from the red family and expressing a new signal of strength. It is a pulsating color whose exuberance promotes a joyous and optimistic celebration, writing a new narrative, according to the global color authority. 

Pantone 18-1750 Viva Magenta descends from the red family, and is inspired by the red of cochineal, one of the most precious dyes belonging to the natural dye family as well as one of the strongest and brightest the world has known.

“Rooted in the primordial, Pantone 18-1750 Viva Magenta reconnects us to original matter. Invoking the forces of nature, Pantone  18-1750 Viva Magenta galvanizes our spirit, helping us to build our inner strength,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director at Pantone Color Institute

Self-expression and inclusivity 
This year’s Color of the Year is “powerful and empowering,” underscores Pantone.

This year’s Color of the Year is powerful and empowering, underscores Pantone.The company highlights the shade as a “new animated red that revels in pure joy, encouraging experimentation and self-expression without restraint.”

Pantone 18-1750 Viva Magenta is anticipated to attract consumers with a verve for life and rebellious spirit,” with Pantone adding, “it is a color that is audacious, full of wit and inclusive of all.”

“Consumers are increasingly captivated by vivid, saturated shades, which we anticipate will pick up momentum in the new year,” comments Kelly Newsome, senior marketing manager, Colors, ADM. 

This uptick signals that people are seeking products that evoke a sense of optimism and positivity and enable self-expression in new ways, she says.

According to Maartje Hendrickx, market development manager at GNT, Viva Magenta is attention-grabbing, stimulating and energizing. 

“It’s a shade that can create excitement and strong shelf appeal in many products. It’s the perfect choice for applications in the health and supplement sector, including functional beverages and vitamin gummies. It’s also strongly associated with love, passion, and temptation, making it an ideal match for indulgent desserts and confectionery treats,” she details.

Signifying health and wellness
Catalina Ospina, technical marketing specialist for Sense Colour at Givaudan, explains that the trendy family of flavors which Viva Magenta comes under is always on the radar of food developers because of their strong associations with health and wellness concepts. 

“Imagine sauces, coulis, sherbets, soft drinks, gel desserts and foams or complex sweet-sour or hot-sweet combinations for culinary applications,” she notes. 

“Pantone has declared that the color is inspired by cochineal, a natural color source whose brightness and stability undeniably have conquered a niche in cosmetics and food applications.”

Ospina believes the color is “a perfect fit for foods and beverages, especially in contrast with the selecion of the previous year, which was a beautiful color but not always as easily incorporated into food due to the natural color options available in different regions.”

“Colors in the red family, like Viva Magenta, are positively correlated with appetite, and positive traits like vividness, passion, and fun, and as many of the upcoming flavor trends imply boldness and intensity, we consider that the color poses an excellent opportunity for designing holistic multi sensory food experiences that consumers will undoubtedly love,” she reflects. Reds tend to signal ripeness in nature, communicating that the fruits and vegetables are ready to be consumed.

Derived from nature 
Notably, nature is full of examples of magenta sources in the form of essential phytochemicals like anthocyanins and betacyanins, which fulfill a protective role in plants through potent antioxidant activity, comments Ospina. 

“So, the good news is that food and beverages can benefit from these same pigments in the form of natural colors and coloring foodstuffs coming from the same edible sources, amplifying the sensory enjoyment of food through its color.”

Reds tend to signal ripeness in nature, communicating that fruits and vegetables are ready to be consumed to disperse the seeds for future generations of plants to propagate, Ospina explains.

Reflecting the trend in the taste space, Firmenich recently crowned the magenta-pigmented dragon fruit as 2023’s Flavor of the Year.

“In the same way that Pantone’s Color of the Year captures the emerging themes seen in the world around us, our choice for Flavor of the Year does so by translating new signals into positive sensory experiences,” says Mikel Cirkus, global creative director for Taste & Beyond.

“Dragon fruit’s subtle flavor creates a wonderful opportunity to bring the exceptional creativity and expertise of Firmenich’s Flavorists to the fore, providing the perfect canvas for them to dare to imagine bold, exciting and delicious new taste combinations,” adds Jeff Schmoyer, Firmenich’s global head of human insights.

Stirring up social media
Hendrickx believes that Magenta shades are made for sharing and provide a perfect fit for Generation Z’s social media-aware lifestyles. “They’re eye-catching and inviting, invoking feelings of warmth and joy,” she says. 

“It is also a shade that can be easily incorporated in imagery – not only for F&B products but also cosmetics, fashion and decoration,” she comments. 

GNT is looking beyond one-size-fits-all color solutions – it’s about finding tailor-made solutions that connect with consumers.

Meanwhile, Givaudan’s Ospina Viva Magenta is a color that is simultaneously natural, primordial and familiar but also extremely vivid and exciting, making it “an easy appropriation for tech communication.”

Craving weird and eye catching products
Related to cravings of bolder colors among consumers, GNT recently identified a “Healthy Hedonism” ethos that reshapes the food and beverage industry. It’s driven by Generation Z’s desire to celebrate joy and creativity. 

According to Hendrickx, this generation of conscious citizens is embracing vibrant color as a tool for impactful communication, creating demand for visually striking products that are also healthy and sustainable.

Deep and fierce colors drawing in consumers with added playfulness and excitement. (Credit: GNT)“As part of this trend, we’ve highlighted several distinct color directions, including ‘Riotous Joy.’ It involves an indulgent, sensory pile-up of bright, clashing, highly saturated colors with congealed and mattified surfaces. It mirrors young consumers’ exuberant attitudes toward color, texture and taste, and channels their delight in embracing their inner ‘weird.’”

She adds that shades like Viva Magenta can be used to create spectacularly bold and bright color combinations.

ADM recently released its 2023 Flavor and Color Outlook report, wher the company identified an overarching theme for 2023 – it will be a year of freedom of expression. According to ADM, this ties in exceedingly well with Pantone’s Color of the Year, Viva Magenta, which Pantone notes encourages “experimentation and self-expression without restraint” and promotes “a joyous and optimistic celebration.”

Likewise, ADM sees deep and fierce colors drawing in consumers with added playfulness and excitement, particularly in the pink family with trends like “Barbiecore” on the rise, Newsome notes. 

Notably, the gravitation toward vibrancy bodes well for consumers interested in trying new foods and beverages in 2023. 

“Brands have an opportunity to capitalize on this by evaluating their current offerings to identify opportunities to stand out with products that bring striking visual impact through color and “turn up the volume” with bold flavors,” she summarizes. 

Earlier this week, FoodIngredientsFirst published a Special Report on bold and experimental colors which are driving “freedom of expression.”