Liz Parker Kuhn: As the FDA’s ban on Red Dye No. 3 continues to make waves in the food industry, have consumers’ attitudes shifted about buying candy with the dye, especially as Valentine’s Day is coming up?  

Megan Copas: The FDA’s ban on Red Dye No. 3 has been highly talked about driving consumer awareness. Four in 5 consumers are aware of the ban and close to half of those aware of the ban are planning to avoid foods with Red Dye No. 3 in them. Valentine’s Day is less impacted, with 35% of consumers who buy candy for the holiday planning to change what they typically buy. Less change for Valentine’s Day candy could be attributed to several things: 1) the ban getting announced close enough to the holiday that shoppers don’t have time or bandwidth to change, 2) treating Valentine’s Day as an indulgent exception, 3) the nostalgic desire for the typical candies consumed. 

LPK: If consumers don’t want to buy candy with Red Dye No. 3, are there other options available to them in terms of candies, brands, etc.? (for example, YumEarth and others don’t use dyes)

MC: There are other ways for consumers to indulge in candies that do not contain Red Dye No. 3. For example, there are candies that are flavored and/or colored with fruits, vegetables, or other natural ingredients instead of artificial dyes. If consumers are trying to avoid Red Dye No. 3 they should check the ingredient information on product packages. For consumers who don’t want to worry about checking labels, many products typically are free of Red Dye No. 3 while still allowing for celebrating the holiday, including chocolate.  

LPK: Do tradition and brand loyalty remain strong with consumers? If so, how will the ban affect that?

MC: This is a great question. In a recent white paper on brand loyalty, we found that the majority of shoppers define loyalty as the brands they have in their consideration set and are not defined by exclusivity to a brand. When looking at candy specifically, only 23% of shoppers had a strong brand preference. I believe the recent ban on Red Dye No. 3 could create an opportunity for a brand to gain loyalty through consistent communication about their product ingredients to help shoppers find products that meet their evolving needs and through new product innovations that give shoppers confidence the brand has their best interests in mind. Brands could win this moment by building trust and delivering value through being a credible information source, delivering the ingredients shoppers want, reducing shopping efforts by personalizing recommendations, and being authentic and transparent about the brand’s ingredients and response to the ban.

LPK: How many consumers indicated that they are likely to avoid purchasing products with Red Dye No. 3 moving forward? How many plan to continue buying their preferred brands, regardless of dye info?

MC: Going forward, close to half of consumers plan to avoid Red Dye No. 3. The most interesting thing about this is we exposed those not aware of the ban to the details of the ruling, and post that exposure, the number of consumers saying they will avoid Red Dye No. 3 almost doubled. Less than 10% of consumers are apathetic to the ban and will continue to buy their preferred products and brands.

LPK: What are your predictions for the rest of 2025, in terms of consumer changes?

MC: We know that consumers continue to remain concerned about inflation even as the inflation rate declines, and between this and data we have on New Year’s resolutions, I expect some key trends in 2025 could include:

• Getting the best value – Consumers are switching to lower costs brands to help address economic and budget concerns
• Spend time on finding the deals – Shoppers are looking for sales and coupons more often and will purchase across retailers to maximize their dollar
• Focusing on only the essentials – Consumers are cutting  back on non-essential items like snacks and candy to ensure they can get the items they need, and also planning to spend less on dining out/carryout and entertainment spending
• Balancing what’s healthy and what’s possible – Consumers report that the biggest challenge of eating healthy is food cost, and this is also the top influencer on deciding which foods to eat

Related: FDA bans use of Red Dye 3 in food