Gardenia Genipin Blue
2026-02-27 16:29:52
We often wonder: where do the attractive blue candies and refreshing blue drinks get their color? Many people think natural blue pigments are rare, but as it turns out, a stable and safe natural blue color comes from the familiar fruit of gardenia.
It is Gardenia Genipin Blue—a natural plant-based colorant deeply processed from gardenia extract using gardenia fruit as the raw material. Unlike synthetic pigments, it is transformed from genipin, a key active substance. Through the special reaction of genipin powder, it forms a pure, stable natural blue color, making it a mild and reliable source of natural color for food, cosmetics, and other industries. Healthkintai is a professional plant extract supplier in China. We can provide you with high-quality genipin powder and gardenia blue powder. Please contact us at health@kintaibio.com.
How to Make Gardenia Genipin Blue?
The plant origin of Gardenia Genipin Blue
Gardenia Blue is derived from the fruit of Gardenia jasminoides (a member of the Rubiaceae family), not the gardenia flower we commonly see. As a food and medicine homologous material, gardenia fruit is rich in gardenia extract, whose main component is geniposide. This serves as the core raw material for producing Gardenia Blue and genipin powder.
How to Make Gardenia Genipin Blue from Genipin Powder?
Since ancient times, gardenia fruit has been used for dyeing and medicinal purposes, demonstrating its remarkable natural practical value.
The production process of Gardenia Blue is straightforward. Briefly, gardenia extract containing geniposide is first extracted from gardenia fruit. Geniposide is then converted into genipin via enzymatic hydrolysis with β-glucosidase. After that, genipin powder reacts with edible amino acids, followed by a series of processing steps including extraction, purification, and drying, finally yielding Gardenia Blue in powder or liquid form.
Among these, genipin powder is the key intermediate for forming Gardenia Blue, and its purity directly determines the color purity and stability of the final product.
The Properties of Gardenia Genipin Blue
- Excellent water solubility and strong coloring power: After the reaction between genipin powder and amino acids, the solubility is further improved. It can be easily dissolved in water-based foods and beverages, achieving uniform coloring with a small dosage, suitable for various food processing scenarios.
- Outstanding stability and wide adaptability: stable in color with excellent light and heat resistance and stable to most metal ions. Its stability comes from the chemical properties of genipin powder, which is better than other gardenia pigments such as gardenia yellow, making it suitable for high-temperature, light, and other industrial processing environments.
- Good compatibility and miscibility: As one of the three primary natural colors, it can be combined with natural pigments such as gardenia yellow and safflower yellow to produce various colors, including green and purple, with controllable hue and uniform coloring.
- Natural and non-toxic: Compared with synthetic blue pigments (indigo, brilliant blue), it is more natural and safer and is gradually replacing synthetic pigments in various industries.
The Applications of Gardenia Genipin Blue
Gardenia Blue is widely used in beverages, candies, pastries, ice cream, jams, baked goods, dairy products, and other foods due to its excellent water solubility, uniform coloring, high stability, and non-toxic nature.
It can be used alone to produce a natural blue color, or blended with natural colorants such as gardenia yellow and safflower yellow to create rich shades, including green and purple. It meets the processing and appearance requirements of various foods, making it an ideal choice to replace synthetic blue colorants and enhance the natural and healthy properties of products.
Gardenia Genipin Blue VS. Butterfly Pea Flower Extract
As a natural pigment, Gardenia Blue outperforms butterfly pea flower extract in terms of stability, regulatory safety, coloring strength, and industrial applicability.
Gardenia Blue is acid-resistant, light-resistant, and heat-resistant. It has a wide applicable pH range; it is an approved food colorant in many countries and can be widely used in various food processing applications.
In contrast, butterfly pea flower extract is prone to discoloration under acidic or alkaline conditions with poor stability, and it is not approved as a food colorant in China, only serving as a specialty plant ingredient for niche scenarios such as herbal teas.
Therefore, in large-scale and standardized food coloring, Gardenia Blue is the more reliable and practical choice.
Why Should You Buy Genipin or Genipin Blue from Healthkintai?
Genipin powder and Gardenia Blue are both high value-added products derived from gardenia extract. As a professional manufacturer specializing in plant extracts with over 10 years of experience, Healthkintai can provide reliable products to support your R&D and production.
We are equipped with a professional laboratory and dedicated R&D team that strictly controls the entire production process. We are committed to ensuring our products meet high purity standards and fully comply with international quality and safety specifications, providing reliable and consistent raw material solutions for our global partners. Please feel free to contact us at health@kintaibio.com to know more about our products.
