According to the "China Gardenia Blue pigment industry market scale and investment prospects forecast Analysis Report" released by Beijing Boyan Consulting, China's gardenia blue pigment industry has developed rapidly in recent years, becoming an important part of the global natural pigment market. In 2023, the market size of China's gardenia blue pigment reached about 180 million yuan, an increase of 12%. It is expected that by 2025, the market size of China's gardenia blue pigment will reach about 250 million yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of about 15%.

Gardenia blue（CNS No.：08.123；INS No.：165）is a food additive made from the fruit of Gardenia Jasminoides Ellis by water or edible ethanol extraction, enzymatic hydrolysis (β-glucosidase), addition of edible amino acid combination, refining and other processes. Gardenia blue is soluble in water, aqueous ethanol and aqueous propylene glycol. When PH value is in the range of 3~8 the color has no significant change. It is heat resistant, so it can stand 120℃ but not fading within 60 minutes. It has strong coloring power to protein. The maximum absorption peak is at wavelengths 580nm to 620nm.

Product quality standard National Food safety standard for food additive Gardenia blue GB 28311-2012 stipulates the sensory, physicochemical indicators as following:

Gardenia blue, as a natural blue pigment with wide application prospect and excellent stable and safe characteristics, has gained favor among food producers. In the beverage industry, it is widely used in fruit and vegetable juice (pulp) drinks (food classification number: 14.02.03), flavored beverages (food classification number: 14.08), and prepared wines (food classification number: 15.02), creating a charming blue hue and enhancing product appearance, Stimulating consumers' desire to buy.

It is also used in snack foods such as frozen drinks (except ice for 03.04) (food classification number: 03.0), confectionery (food classification number: 05.02), pastries (food classification number: 07.02), and biscuits (food classification number: 07.03), adding unique color charm to these products.

More specific industry categories and usage of Gardenia blue please refer to the relevant provisions of GB2760 National Food Safety Standard for Food Additive Use .Details please refer to the following table:

Furthermore, gardenia blue can be combined with natural yellow pigments like gardenia yellow and carthamins yellow to create different shades of green, or with natural red pigments to produce various shades of purple. This flexible color-matching ability enhances its potential in food processing.

With its natural, harmless, natural color, wide application and other advantages, Gardenia blue is showing great potential and value in the market.