Spectratec Inc., in partnership with Quantum Colours SA, is proud to be recognised among the top suppliers of colour solutions—delivering quality, consistency, and innovation across industries.

While our foundation lies in the supply of high-performance synthetic colours for the food industry, we understand the growing demand for natural alternatives. Transitioning to natural colours can be complex, but our expertise allows us to guide our clients through this shift—balancing visual impact, formulation stability, and regulatory requirements.

We’re committed to helping brands make informed, confident decisions as they adapt to evolving consumer and market trends—offering both synthetic and natural colour systems that perform reliably and meet global standards.

Primary Colours :

At Spectratec Inc., in collaboration with Quantum Colours SA, we offer a wide range of vibrant, high-quality colourants for diverse industries—including Food, Pharmaceutical, Cosmetic, and Industrial applications.

Expanding beyond pharmaceutical coatings, Quantum Colours developed Glacier—a versatile colour system now successfully used in food applications where consistency, brightness, and stability are key.

Our primary food colours are available in water-soluble powder form and meet the highest standards for safety and compliance. Most are Kosher and Halaal certified, with select products also FDA(+) approved, and available in both pure and blended shades to suit your formulation needs.

Common food applications include:
Ice cream, snack foods, soft drinks, sauces, jams, seafood, dairy products, confectionery, baked goods, icings, and even dry pet foods.

We understand that colour is an essential part of the eating experience—with red suggesting sweetness and ripeness, yellow symbolising joy and freshness, and orange evoking energy and vitality. Our products are designed to help you capture those emotions and enhance consumer appeal.

Available Colour Options:

• Sunset Yellow

• Ponceau

• Tartrazine

• Carmoisine

• Quinoline Yellow

• Brilliant Blue

• Erythrosine

• Allura Red

• Indigo Carmine

• Brown

• Amaranth

• Red, Black, Green, Patent Blue

Whatever your industry or product, Spectratec Inc. delivers reliable, compliant, and effective colour solutions that help your brand stand out.

Blended Colours suitable for Food, Pharmaceutical, Cosmetic & Industrial applications:

At Spectratec Inc., we recognise the evolving demands of manufacturers across the Food, Pharmaceutical, Cosmetic, and Industrial sectors. Through our collaboration with Quantum Colours SA, we offer tailored blended colour solutions designed to deliver superior shade accuracy, performance, and label-friendly options.

By blending similar or complementary colour sources, we achieve enhanced colour balance, improved stability, and unique shades that stand out in final applications. Whether you’re looking to sharpen differentiation, boost colouring strength, or meet clean label requirements using natural concentrates like red beet or orange carrot, we have solutions ready—and more in development.

Our state-of-the-art applications laboratory allows us to provide custom shade matching services based on your product goals, including matching to Pantone references for branding consistency and precision.

Water-Soluble Blended Colour Options include:
Butcher’s Red, Lime Green, Blackcurrant, Strawberry, Pineapple, Black, Raspberry, Ice Blue, Orange, Olive Green, Mustard, Yellow Lemon, Guava, Beef Red, Cola Brown, Tomato Red, Green, and Grape.

These blends are available in powder form and are suitable for use in a wide variety of applications—from food and beverage to personal care and more.

NATURAL COLOURS FROM SPECTRATEC INC

At Spectratec Inc., we understand the global shift toward natural colour solutions, driven by consumer demand for clean-label, minimally processed products. As awareness around food additives grows, manufacturers are increasingly turning to natural colours as viable alternatives to synthetic options—without compromising on performance or visual appeal.

Some natural colours, being plant-based extracts, can be listed without E-numbers, making them highly attractive for brands seeking to simplify their ingredient lists. In many cases, they also offer additional benefits such as antioxidant properties, allowing for positive health claims on packaging.

Through our partnership with Quantum Colours SA, we’re actively exploring innovative technologies to improve the stability and usability of natural colourants. One such advancement includes encapsulation techniques that enhance shelf life, solubility, and resistance to processing challenges like heat and pH variability.

While the demand for natural colours continues to rise, we also recognise the ongoing value of synthetic colour systems for specific applications. We believe natural and synthetic colours can—and will—coexist, giving manufacturers the flexibility to choose the best solution based on functionality, regulatory needs, and brand positioning.

Natural colours suitable for Food, Pharmaceutical, Cosmetic & Industrial applications:

Typical Applications: Ice-cream, Alcoholic beverages, Seafood (permitted levels vary and must be checked and verified with your regional regulatory body), Processed cheese, Dairy desserts, Snack foods, Baked goods, Icings, Dry pet foods (unlimited use within good manufacturing practice).  Also widely used in sausage casings, smoked fish, margarine, snacks, cheese and cereals.

Physical Form as per table below: Water Soluble Powder | Water Soluble Liquid | Oil Soluble Liquid

Turmeric:
Turmeric is derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa L.. by the process of either boiling or drying the rhizomes and then grounded into an orange-yellow powder commonly used as a colouring and flavouring agent in the Asian culture and cuisine. In the pharmaceutical and food industry it is widely used as a food supplement (western-herbal medicine), colouring or dyeing agent due to its vibrant colour properties and possible addition of flavour with low toxicity risks.

Riboflavin:
Riboflavin, also known as Vitamin B2, is a water-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in many foods. It occurs as a vibrant yellow to yellow-orange crystalline powder. While riboflavin itself is not typically used as a food colouring, it can contribute to the colour of certain foods due to its role in various biochemical reactions.

Lutein:
Lutein is a naturally occurring pigment and antioxidant found in many fruits and vegetables, particularly those with vibrant, deep green or yellow colours. Lutein belongs to the group of colouring substances- carotenoids and apart from playing an important role in eye health, it is a natural food additive and colourant which makes for an excellent addition to any food products.

Beta-carotene:
Beta-carotene is an organic pigment abundant in plants and fruits. It is a member of the carotenes, terpenoids (isoprenoids), synthesised biochemically or extracted naturally from carrots. The name beta-carotene comes from the  Greek “beta” and Latin “carota” (carrot). It is part of the colouring substances group- carotenoids and it is the yellow-orange pigment that forms during plant photosynthesis. Although carotene is a provitamin of Vitamin A, the amount of Vitamin A converted from carotene in the body is not significant enough to be considered toxic to humans when consumed, but beneficial as it acts as an antioxidant.

Annato:
Annato is a natural food colourant with an orange-red pigment and derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (Bixa Orellana), native to the tropical areas of America. It is used as a food additive and colourant due to the impartation of a yellow to orange-red colour to food. It is a diverse colourant used in the food industry due to its dual solubility in both water and oil.

Paprika:
Paprika extract powder is extracted from red fruits such as red peppers, also known as Capsicum annum L. Another name for Paprika is Capsanthin which forms part of the carotenoid group. It is a well applied food additive and natural colourant due to its oil solubility, spicy, peppery flavour and the intense red-orange pigment. An additional benefit is its antioxidant properties.

Lycopene:
Lycopene is a bright-red natural colourant which forms part of the colouring group- carotenoids. It is extracted from tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables. It is applied as a natural food colourant due to its bright pigment. Although lycopene is chemically a carotene, it has no vitamin A activity.

Carmine:
Carmine also known as Cochineal is a natural red food colourant extracted from the dried bodies of the Cochineal insect, Dactylopius coccus costa, found mainly in tropical and subtropical America and Mexico where it feeds off cacti. Carmine (Cochineal) also known as carminic acid produces an extremely stable red pigment.

Beetroot red or Betanin:
Beetroot Red or Betanin is a natural food additive and colourant which is extracted from the roots of the beet plant (Beta vulgaris). It is a well applied natural food colourant due to its vibrant range of red to purple hues. Betanin is a water-soluble pigment- this quality makes it a widely used food additive. It belongs to the betalain family of pigments. The hues produced are greatly dependent on the pH levels of the substance it is mixed into. Betanin becomes unstable when subjected to light, heat, and oxygen; therefore, it is used in frozen products, products with a short shelf life, or products sold in a dry state. Betanin can survive pasteurisation when used in products with high sugar content.

Anthocyanins:
Anthocyanins and anthocyanidins form part of a natural food colourant group which produces vibrant hues of red, blue and purple to certain fruits and vegetables. They belong to the flavonoid group of phytochemicals and have both health and food additive benefits. As a flavonoid it acts as an antioxidant which assists with many health benefits and as a food additive it is beneficial as it provides vibrant hues. This colourant   is well applied in the food industry but becomes unstable when exposed to high temperatures, light and fluctuating pH levels. In acidic conditions, anthocyanins appear red but turn blue when the pH increases.

Spirulina:
Spirulina is a natural blue-green pigment which is part of the algae family. It is a widely applied food colourant due to its vibrant blue and green hues. Apart from the benefits such as vibrant colouring, Spirulina has many health benefits including antioxidant properties and amino acid activity which also makes for an excellent dietary supplement.

Blue Pea Flower:
The Butterfly Pea Flower (Clitoria ternatea) forms part of the anthocyanin family which produces vibrant blue and purple hues. It is widely applied in the food industry as it is a stable ingredient when exposed to heat, light and fluctuating pH levels. The colour deepens from blue to purple with an increase in pH levels- this is a typical property of the anthocyanin group of natural colours.

Chlorophyll:
Chlorophylls are natural colours found in plants and algae. It produces the green colour in plants and assists with photosynthesis providing energy to the plants from light. Natural chlorophyll (E140) is water-soluble and only moderately stable when exposed to heat and light. To overcome the instability, processes involving the coppering of Chlorophyll are carried out and the instable chlorophylls are transformed into more stable compounds which may be exposed to heat and light. The Copper Chlorophyllin produces a blue green pigment when dissolved in water, and are often mixed with yellow Chlorophyll hues to produce a lighter green pigment such as lime.

Caramel:
Caramel is a natural food colourant. The medium to dark-orange colour is obtained by heating a variety of food-grade carbohydrates. Caramel is a well applied and popular food colourant due to its flavours, aroma and colour. It is widely used in desserts and sweet treats because of sweet properties. It is a moderately stable product when exposed to light and extremely stable when exposed to heat and different pH levels. The colour intensity is dependent on the concentration of the caramel mixture.

Whites:
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a naturally occurring mineral mined from the earth, processed and refined then manufactured into a white pigment. It is applied in both the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries as a colour enhancer, glaze colourant and for its contribution of opacity to products. Titanium dioxide is not water- or oil-soluble, it is inert and has extreme stability when exposed to heat, light and fluctuating pH levels. It is both acidic and alkaline resistant which is beneficial in tablet coatings when considering the specific needs of the product.

Carbon black:
Carbon black also known as vegetable carbon is a natural black colourant. It is obtained from refined carbonised vegetable particles. It is well applied as a food-colourant and enhancer of visual appearance. It is mostly derived from plant material and thus safe for the vegan and vegetarian consumers. It is an extremely stable product when exposed to light, heat and fluctuating pH levels. The shade of colour is dependent on the concentration of the product in the blend.

Iron Oxides:
Iron oxides are naturally occurring chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen producing pigments ranging from yellow, red, brown to black. It is a widely used ingredient in different industries such as food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, animal foods because of the vibrant earthy hues it produces.