Natural Color Supply Squeeze
matt@mattb
+0.6%
since Sep 30
The idea
I think the FDA's 2026 deadline to pull petroleum dyes from food forces a wave of reformulation, and the real money sits with whoever supplies the natural pigments and recipe work, not the brands footing the bill. So the portfolio centers on colorant and ingredient suppliers, adds a smaller stake in the crop and pigment chain behind beets, spirulina and butterfly pea, and keeps only a thin slice in clean-label consumer names.
What it owns
- These companies sell the natural colors and reformulation work that every dye swap requires, so the conversion wave shows up directly in their order books. · Sensient TechnologiesIts main business is selling food color, including natural pigments, so it sits closest to the supply squeeze as brands reformulate ahead of regulatory deadlines., McCormick & CompanyIts flavor solutions arm signs the contracts when packaged food companies overhaul products, and a dye purge means a wave of exactly that reformulation work., IngredionIt supplies clean-label ingredient systems, and dye swaps rarely happen alone as brands reworking for natural color often clean up the entire label at once., International Flavors & FragrancesIt gets paid for the recipe work when a brand swaps synthetic dyes for natural alternatives, selling both the reformulation service and the replacement ingredients.68%
- A small stake in sellers already built around dye-free food, who gain shelf share as brands purge synthetic dyes ahead of regulatory deadlines. · Sprouts Farmers MarketIts shelves are already largely dye-free, so it gains customers and traffic while conventional grocers scramble to reformulate ahead of the regulatory deadline., ZeviaIt sells soda that never used synthetic dyes, so it gains shelf space and shoppers while dyed competitors rework recipes on a regulatory deadline.12%
- The raw pigment has to come from somewhere, and these are the direct producers of spirulina color and fermented beet pigment needed to meet natural color demand. · Ginkgo BioworksFermentation at scale can make beet-type pigment, one answer to natural colors requiring far higher input volumes, with the case resting on signed production contracts.8%
- Cash12%