As Target, Walmart and Aldi embrace naturally-colored food, brands rush to meet demand

Other retailers like Walmart, Sam’s Club and, most recently, Aldi are in the process of making similar moves, though some of these changes won’t be completed for another year. According to Aldi, all foods that are under its exclusive owned brands will be free of certified synthetic food dyes, such as Red 40, Yellow 5 and Blue 1 by the end of 2027. The phasing out of artificial dyes is largely focused on categories that are popular with families, such as cereals, frozen treats and other pantry snacks.

The industry has tried to make a similar move before. In 2016, General Mills attempted to remove artificial dyes from its popular cereals such as Trix, but quickly brought back the original formula due to consumer backlash and declining sales. But this time, it appears that both brands and retailers are preparing for the growing demand for natural food dyes to stick, thanks to the enduring popularity of the MAHA movement. For many emerging brands already focused on natural colors, this has provided an opportunity to finally move beyond natural channels and expand into big-box retail more quickly.

One of the brands launching an exclusive cereal at Target this month is Seven Sundays, with its Peanut Butter and PB Chocolate Puffs. Seven Sundays was founded in 2011 and launched at Target in early 2025. 

This year, CEO Hannah Barnstable said the brand is deepening its relationship with Target as part of the retailer’s initiative to ditch cereal dyes. Target is exclusively stocking the brand’s new Red Velvet Oat Protein Cereal, which uses beet powder to give it a pink coloring.

“About 18 months ago, all of our distribution was in the natural channel,” she said, which includes retailers like Whole Foods and Sprouts. Since then, Seven Sundays went from about 5,000 grocery stores to over 20,000, mostly from Walmart, Target, Kroger and Albertsons deals. 

Barnstable said that as the brand began talking to more conventional retailers, she heard about their interest in moving away from artificial dyes and flavors while still balancing out their new assortment of national, startup and private brands.

“Every single retailer we talk to — whether it’s Walmart or Sam’s Club or Costco — the push for cleaner ingredients comes up in every meeting,” she said.

Barnstable said that better-for-you brands are no longer seen by buyers as boring healthy alternatives, especially as the brands adapt their recipes to compete with brightly colored favorites. “We make it easier for a consumer to switch from something like Cocoa Puffs to our chocolate sunflower cereal,” Barnstable said. “So the kids still get the crunchy chocolaty bites.” 

John Conlin, Target’s senior vp of food and beverage, characterized the cereal aisle changes as a priority.

“Families are making more intentional choices about what they feed their families, and the cereal aisle is one of the most visible places where we can respond to that shift,” Conlin told Modern Retail in a statement. 

“The goal is to create a cereal aisle that feels simpler, more inspiring and more aligned to the needs of today’s busy families,” Conlin said.

John Scheer is the co-founder and chief creative director of strategic brand agency Herman Scheer. Scheer said he is seeing the most change in food categories like breakfast cereals and frozen novelty treats. “But even OTC medications are getting ‘cleaner’ this year,” he said.

“There is also Frito-Lay dipping their toes into the natural space by introducing dye-free Doritos and Cheetos,” Scheer said. But by not fully committing to phasing out artificial colors, it appears that the company is “hedging their commitment to see if consumers actually care.”

It’s also not just cereals and sweet treats that are getting the artificial dyes phaseout in the U.S. 

Smash Kitchen, co-founded by actor Glen Powell and launched in early 2025, also recently rolled out at Target this month after hitting Walmart shelves last year.

Smash Kitchen began with a line of condiments free of synthetic dyes, and this year it launched chips made without artificial flavors or colors. The brand’s plan is to build out a full pantry brand of dye-free foods.

Sameer Mehta, co-founder and CEO at Smash Kitchen, said that “consumers today are reading labels more closely than ever before, particularly in center-store grocery categories that historically haven’t seen much innovation.” This shift has played a major role in Smash Kitchen’s growth over the past year, thanks to early interest from big-box retailers.

“Since launching in April 2025, Smash Kitchen has expanded to roughly 7,000 doors nationwide and become Walmart’s fastest-growing condiment launch in over a decade,” said Mehta. He said that the Target launch further reflects the growing appetite from retailers and shoppers for products made with simpler, more natural ingredients. 

Barnstable said that as retailers and the big CPG brands adapt to these new initiatives, smaller brands will have to compete by offering the cleanest possible formulations. 

“A ‘clean label’ product can mean lots of different things to retailers,” Barnstable said. For example, Barnstable of Seven Sundays said that, after Covid-19, many retailers were looking for immunity-boosting superfoods. In the last year or two, that has shifted to naturally dyed food and beverages that still offer high nutritional value with the addition of protein and fiber.

Mehta said he expects more categories to get “cleaned up” as retailers continue making pledges. “We believe retailers increasingly understand that cleaner-label products are no longer niche, they’re becoming the expectation,” said Mehta.

So far, consumers seem to be reacting well to retailers’ shift to natural labels. Scheer said, as more categories get the naturally-colored treatment, consumer reaction may turn sour.

“The hardest [adaptation] will be for brands that have clear packaging that shows off the color of the product, like Gatorade,” Scheer said. “Consumers literally refer to them as ‘red, yellow or blue’ flavor.”