PepsiCo Rushing To Replace Artificial Colors With Natural Ingredients After RFK Jr.'s Warning

CEO Ramon Laguarta confirmed during the company's first-quarter earnings call that they’re “going to be accelerating that transition," with a goal to shift "all the portfolio into natural colors or at least provide the consumer with natural color options" over the next "couple years."

This announcement came just two days after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly called on food companies to remove synthetic dyes by the end of 2026. 

PepsiCo is already dipping its toes into the "natural" pool, recently introducing Simply Ruffles Hot & Spicy, which uses tomato powder and red chili pepper for coloring. However, it still contains seed oils.

Laguarta stressed that "we stand by the science," adding that their snacks "are very safe," but acknowledged that times are changing. "Ideally, we can do this in a very pragmatic, orchestrated way as an industry and not create unnecessary panic or chaos," he said.

According to FoodDive, the first to report on PepsiCo’s new move, General Mills tried to clean up cereals like Trix by ditching artificial colors in 2016. Sales dropped, customers complained about the weird new hues, and the company sheepishly brought back the neon rainbow a year later.

McCormick’s CEO, Brendan Foley, said in March that they’re "seeing a tick-up in reformulation activity," as the possibility of bans on synthetic dyes gains momentum. Some of it’s fear, some of it’s practicality.  

West Virginia passed a bill in March restricting seven artificial dyes in foods, and other states have similar bills lined up. Whether the federal government will actually force companies to comply is still murky, but RFK Jr.'s pressure has clearly shaken things loose.

Meanwhile, Laguarta made it clear: "Every consumer will have the opportunity to choose what they prefer."  

Replacing those fake reds and neon blues isn’t about some sudden health revelation on PepsiCo’s part. Because even if "the products are very safe," as Laguarta insisted, being the company that "listened to consumers" plays a lot better than being the company stuck arguing about food dyes in the middle of an election year.

Meanwhile, new research is giving even more reasons to rethink ultra-processed foods altogether. A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine linked higher consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) to a sharp rise in premature deaths. Researchers found that for every 10% increase in dietary energy from UPFs, the risk of early death rose by 3%. In the United States alone, UPFs were associated with an estimated 124,000 premature deaths in 2018. The study, which spanned eight countries, points the finger not just at excess sodium, sugars, and fats, but at the industrial processing itself and the heavy use of additives. If snack companies needed a louder wake-up call, this is it.

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