Dunkin' Donuts And Baskin-Robbins Plan To Remove Artificial Coloring From Products By 2018

Appealing to health-conscious consumers has been more and more important to big food companies, such as PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. Dunkin' Brand Group Inc., which owns Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, is also following suit with the recent announcement that the company plans to remove artificial colors from its products sold in the United States.

Both brands' development teams have partnered with suppliers to rid synthetic colors from their food and drinks and replace them with naturally sourced coloring ingredients by the end of 2018, according to the press release.

"This is a significant undertaking on the part of our product development teams and suppliers," Nigel Travis, Dunkin' Brands' chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

"However, we are committed to meet the evolving needs of our customers, including their preference for more nutritional transparency and simpler ingredients, while maintaining the great taste and the fun, vibrant colors expected from Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins products."

According to the company, exemptions from the removal of artificial coloring include certain supplier-branded ingredients made by other companies, such as toppings or product decorations.

The company also says that while Dunkin' Donuts plans to work toward "cleaner menu labels," it will take Baskin-Robbins a longer period of time to find replacements for ice cream cake decorations.