Utah’s signature wobbling dessert is getting a cleaner recipe.
Known for its neon-colored jiggle, Jell-O has long been a staple on Utah tables and at neighborhood potlucks. Now, the brand is launching a new line free from synthetic dyes and artificial ingredients amid growing consumer demand for more natural products.
On Tuesday, Kraft Heinz unveiled Jell-O Simply, a line of ready-to-eat gelatin made with real fruit juice and 25% less sugar, without compromising the dessert’s bright color, texture or flavor.
With a new package design, Jell-O Simply is now available in stores in three flavors: orange, blueberry and raspberry lemonade. The colors are derived from fruit and vegetable juice and turmeric root extract.
A line of naturally flavored and colored Jell-O instant pudding mixes available in vanilla, chocolate, banana and strawberry will launch nationwide in August.
The company called the move a “meaningful milestone” in its 125-year history.
“We know families are looking for treats that strike the right balance between great taste and ingredients they can feel good about — and they don’t want to sacrifice the brands they know and love to get there,” Kathryn O’Brien, head of marketing, desserts, at Kraft Heinz, said in a statement.
“Jell-O Simply delivers everything people love about Jell-O — the delicious taste, the iconic jiggle and the vibrant fun — now made with no FD&C colors or artificial sweeteners. It’s a meaningful evolution for the brand and an important milestone in Kraft Heinz’s broader modernization journey.”
Consumers are increasingly seeking products made with natural ingredients, putting pressure on products that rely on artificial ingredients like Jell-O. Sales for the product fell 19% from 2009 to 2013 to $753 million and slipped further to $688 million in 2022, reported CNN.
Brands are also facing pressure from the federal government to swap artificial flavors with natural ones. The Biden administration banned the use of Red dye No. 3, and the Trump administration has continued efforts to remove artificial colors and flavors from packed food products.
Kraft Heinz announced plans last summer to remove all artificial food dyes from its products by 2027. The company’s brands include Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Capri Sun, Kool-Aid, Oscar Mayer, Classico, Lunchables and others.
It joins companies such as Nestle, J.M. Smuckers, McCormick, Tyson Foods and PepsiCo, which have also vowed to eliminate artificial ingredients and potentially harmful chemicals from their products.
The mass shift away from artificial ingredients follows the call from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to “make America healthy again,” with a focus on eliminating synthetic chemicals, preservatives and petroleum-based dyes from food products.
The change to Jell-O might be felt most strongly in Utah, where the product is purchased at nearly twice the national average and where the neon-green lime flavor is consumed about twice the global average.
Utah’s obsession with the gelatin dessert became so widely known that in 2001, the Utah Legislature voted to name Jell-O the state’s official favorite snack.