The crystal sugars come in a total of ten colours, principally pastel shades, including pinks and lilacs. According to the company, the 'Barby shades' could be particularly popular in products targeting children.

Mike Smith, regional and technical sales manager, told BakeryAndSnacks.com that the coloured sugars can be used as inclusions or toppings in products such as cakes, pastries, biscuits, doughnuts and finger buns.

Sparkle

Although their principal use is as a decorative finish, Smith said the sugars could also be used in place of conventional sugar in baking applications. This application could be particularly suited for biscuits and other lighter products, where the ingredients would offer a sparkling affect, he said.

However, this effect would not be obtained in heavier mixtures, such as cakes, where the sugars would deliver no particular advantage as an ingredient.

In addition, because of the manufacturing process involved in obtaining the coloured sugars, these are significantly more expensive than conventional sugar, placing them firmly in a premium ingredient sector.

Colours

Food Design said the sugars are naturally coloured, principally from plant colourings.

"Natural colours sometimes fade fast in direct sunlight and can alter within the space of a day. However, unlike some natural colourings the colour in the sugars is relatively stable and holds for the shelf life of the product," said Smith.

In addition, the colours do not bleed into products such as cream or batter, said Smith.

The coloured sugars were introduced at the end of last year and are already being used by a number of companies, said Smith.

Food Design, which manufactures a range of sweet inclusions, for the bakery, ice-cream, desserts and confectionery markets, said that some 45 percent of its inclusions are used in the bakery industry.

New product development in the pipeline includes chocolate coated inclusions, said Smith.