BATTLE CREEK, MICH. — In an accelerated timetable, WK Kellogg Co plans to pull all artificial colors from all of its cereals and replace them with naturally sourced colors before the end of 2026.
Battle Creek-based WK Kellogg, a subsidiary of The Ferrero Group, said production of cereals with the new recipes — including Kellogg’s Froot Loops and Apple Jacks — is slated to get underway later this year, with food shipping to retailers before year-end. As part of the transition, the company also said it’s eliminating the preservative BHT from “the small amount of cereal packaging that contains it today.”
To support the transition to natural colors, WK Kellogg noted that it has made “a significant investment” in its manufacturing facilities and the new cereal recipes maintain “the same great taste and quality that consumers expect and deserve.” The company will switch to colors derived from natural sources, including fruit and vegetable juice and other plant-based ingredients.
“More and more consumers are looking for foods made with simple, recognizable ingredients, and we are proud to meet those expectations, even sooner than planned,” said Doug VanDeVelde, chief growth officer at WK Kellogg. “We conducted extensive consumer testing to make sure these recipes deliver the great taste consumers want while maintaining the original rainbow of colors — red, orange, yellow, green, purple and blue — that fans of Froot Loops and other colorful cereals have come to love. It wasn’t easy, but we identified natural solutions for every color. And we’re confident families will love the updated recipes and simplified ingredients without compromising on quality or taste.”
The updated plan would phase out artificial colors a year ahead of schedule. In July 2025, WK Kellogg announced that it wouldn’t launch any new products with FD&C colors, such as petroleum-based synthetic food dyes, starting in January 2026 and would remove FD&C colors from food sold at retail by the end of 2027. The company also said cereals served in schools would be reformulated without FD&C colors by the 2026-27 school year. At the time, WK Kellogg said cereals without FD&C colors accounted for 85% of its overall cereal sales, with no products containing the petroleum-based synthetic food dye Red No. 3.
“We are really proud that we are announcing the elimination of all artificial colors from our full cereal portfolio by the end of 2026,” VanDeVelde said. “Products with these new recipes, including Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, will be in production later this year and shipping by the end of the year. They’ll transition onto store shelves for consumers to enjoy early in 2027.
“We originally committed to remove all artificial colors by the end of 2027. But thanks to the dedicated work of our passionate team, we’ve completed our work in product development, manufacturing, ingredient sourcing and marketing a full year ahead of schedule, and we want to get these products out to the consumers as soon as we can.”
In unveiling its expedited timeline, WK Kellogg said two steps already have been made: Beginning in January, foods served in schools have been reformulated without artificial colors, and new products no longer contain artificial colors.
“I am thrilled that our team has accomplished this significant milestone a full year ahead of our original timeline,” said Jean-Baptiste Santoul, chief operating officer of WK Kellogg. “We have always evolved our food and packaging to meet the needs and preferences of our consumers, and today’s announcement is just the latest evidence of that long-standing practice — yet another step in our commitment to making meaningful improvements to our cereals while building excitement and confidence in the category.”
VanDeVelde added, “The consumer experience was at the center of this work” in shifting from artificial to naturally sourced colors.
“We wanted to make sure that our consumer would get that same product experience that they’ve come to love,” he said. “So we conducted extensive work across consumers, lots of testing — lots of moms and dads and kids and teens in research — to make sure that we gave them that taste and aroma and colors that they’ve loved for so many years. The new colors are all derived from natural sources: fruit- and vegetable-based juices and other plant-based ingredients.”
WK Kellogg added that the color transition also reflects the recent launch of its SPOONS on-pack nutrition guide. Unveiled in February 2025, the acronym encapsulates the health “credentials” of its cereal: “more Simple than you think,” “as much Protein as an egg in a bowl with milk,” “number One source of fiber for kids,” “brings Other foods along” (such as milk and fruit), “more key Nutrients than those that don’t eat cereal” and “no more added Sugar than those that don’t eat cereal.”
“This announcement ties into our overall effort to help make eating well easy,” VanDeVelde said. “We just launched an on-pack nutrition framework called SPOONS, where each letter stands for something that’s important about cereal. ‘S’ stands for simple, and taking out the artificial colors and replacing them with natural colors just makes these cereals more simple.”
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