IN Brief:
- The Karaman expansion increases capacity for black carrot and beetroot colour preparations.
- Spray drying, jet milling, roasting and suspension processing equipment add distinct manufacturing formats.
- Döhler's existing Mexican site opened its first phase in July; dedicated colour production is planned for a later phase.
Döhler is expanding natural colour processing at its Karaman site in Türkiye, adding equipment for plant pigment concentration, powder production and fine particle processing. The programme increases its capacity to manufacture colour ingredients from black carrots and beetroot, while a further colour production facility is planned at the company’s developing manufacturing site in Mexico.
The Karaman work has been introduced in phases during 2026 and is targeted for completion by the end of the year. Döhler has not disclosed its investment value, the tonnage of additional capacity or the percentage increase expected on individual lines. The equipment programme nevertheless covers several distinct processes, rather than a single extension to an existing extraction line.
Black carrots and beetroot supply pigments used to produce red and purple shades in food and drinks. The principal compounds include anthocyanins from black carrot and betanin from beetroot. Their behaviour varies with formulation conditions, including acidity, temperature and exposure during processing, so colour suppliers need to deliver ingredients with consistent concentration and properties for the intended application.
At Karaman, new resin columns and an evaporator are intended to increase capacity for anthocyanin- and betanin-based preparations. Separation and concentration are different operations: the former helps isolate or refine components from a plant-derived stream, while evaporation removes some of the liquid phase. Both influence the specification of the colour preparation supplied for further manufacture, although Döhler has not released detailed operating parameters for the installations.
Additional spray drying equipment will increase production capacity for colour powders. In spray drying, a liquid preparation is dispersed into small droplets and dried in a controlled air stream. It can produce ingredients more convenient for dry blending and dosing than liquid colour preparations. The resulting properties depend on feed composition, drying conditions and the formulation of the finished powder; the equipment itself does not make every pigment stable in every food application.
The investment also includes a jet mill, extending the site’s capacity for micronised colour ingredients. Particle size affects how solid ingredients disperse and remain distributed in a food matrix. Coarser particles may behave differently during mixing or produce a less uniform appearance, while finer particles can require particular handling and wetting conditions. A controlled particle-size range is therefore relevant to applications that depend on consistent colour distribution.
A roasting unit will add capability for natural brown colourants, while a ball mill will support colour suspensions. Suspensions present a separate manufacturing challenge because solid particles must be distributed in a liquid carrier and remain suitable for dosing. Milling is one way to modify the particles and prepare the mixture, but shelf stability and dispersion depend on the complete ingredient formulation as well as the mechanical process.
The range of processing technologies gives Döhler different routes to supply colour ingredients as liquids, powders, suspensions or micronised preparations. Those formats are not interchangeable on a production line. A liquid ingredient can be pumped or metered into a beverage blend, whereas a powder may enter through a dry mixing system. Selecting between them requires attention to incorporation, product quality and the equipment already installed at a customer’s factory.
In Mexico, Döhler’s first manufacturing phase opened in July at the Arco 57 Industrial Park in San Francisco Soyaniquilpan de Juárez, State of Mexico. That initial development established regional production and technical capabilities for natural ingredients and integrated solutions. Dedicated natural colour facilities belong to a subsequent phase, for which the company has not stated a commissioning date or production capacity.
Producing ingredients nearer their destination markets could change transport distances and lead times, but the outcome depends on which materials are manufactured locally, where agricultural feedstocks are sourced and how orders are fulfilled. Döhler has identified regional sourcing and supply chain development as priorities for the Mexican operation; it has not provided measured logistics savings attributable to the proposed colour facilities.
Expansion across two sites will also require consistent ingredient specifications. Agricultural raw materials vary between harvests, and the concentration and behaviour of colour compounds can change with preparation and processing conditions. Quality controls must establish whether batches meet the required specification before they enter a customer’s formulation. The Karaman programme supplies more processing options to achieve those specifications, rather than eliminating the inherent variability of plant-derived inputs.
The immediate manufacturing milestone is the phased installation at Karaman, scheduled to finish by year-end. The Mexican colour operation remains planned. Capacity figures and commissioning results for both investments have yet to be disclosed, so the scale of the eventual increase in saleable ingredient output cannot be established from the announcement.
