Natural colour is any dye, pigment or substance capable of colouring food, costumes, drug, cosmetics or any part of the human body. Natural colours are obtained from herbs, flowers, vegetables, plants, minerals, seeds, fruits, algae, insects etc. A simple example is chlorophyll, a green colour, a naturally occurring pigment found in all green plants. The process of extraction of natural colours involves solvent extraction with subsequent, repeated purification and crystallisation followed by drying and fine grinding. Some products are washed with an alcoholic solvent to remove pungency. Natural food colours are extensively used to enhance the appearance and appeal of processed food preparations as they do not have any negative effects on health like synthetic colours.

Curcumin, the prime component of turmeric, gives shades of yellow to food items. Betanin and red betacyanin are the pigments found in beet root that provide the red colour. Pink colour is extracted from anato seeds. Anthocyanin colour is sourced from different fruits and vegetables like berries, grapes and black currants. It gives a range of colours from red to blue to food products. Safflower gives yellow to bright orange colour. It is extracted from the flowers of these plants. Curcumin finds application in sea food, mustard sauce, soups, noodles, butter, dairy products etc. Paprika and marigold extracts are used in sausages, food coatings, snack food seasonings, sea food, pickles, ketchup, soups etc.