Gatorade Will Remove Artificial Colors

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised the changes. ‘I urge every food company to follow your lead,’ he said on social media.

Bottles of Gatorade in a store in Austin, Texas, in this file photo. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

At least some versions of Gatorade will no longer have synthetic colors, PepsiCo said on April 16.

One new version, Gatorade Lower Sugar, has no artificial flavors, sweeteners, or colors, in addition to having less sugar than regular Gatorade.

Gatorade is working to remove synthetic colors from all its products, and will later in the spring roll out powder sticks without artificial colors.

Gatorade also plans to debut three of its Gatorade Thirst Quencher and Gatorade Zero flavors, including fruit punch, with colors from fruits and vegetables rather than artificial dyes.

“By listening to consumers, we’re learning more of what they want and don’t want in their Gatorade,“ Mike Del Pozzo, president of PepsiCo Beverages U.S., said in a statement. ”We’re on a journey to remove artificial colors from our product portfolio while maintaining the bold Gatorade color people know and love.”

The Trump administration has made removing artificial colors from food and drinks a priority, banning several previously approved synthetic dyes and saying that officials would be working with companies to have the remaining, still authorized colors replaced with those from natural sources.

In a post on X on April 17, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised Gatorade for the changes.

“I urge every food company to follow your lead and join us to Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy wrote.

Gatorade is also making two other big changes, PepsiCo said. It is placing clearer messaging on packaging regarding how the products hydrate compared with water, and it is developing new products such as Gatorlyte Longer Lasting, a proprietary electrolyte blend that the company says will help the body retain fluid and stay hydrated longer than if water were consumed.

PepsiCo executives had previously said they would be working on accelerating a transition away from artificial colors to meet customer demand. In recent months, the company released versions of its popular Doritos and Cheetos snacks without synthetic dyes. The packaging states that the products are “naked of dyes” and “Simply NKD.”

“This move underscores our commitment to flavor leadership, demonstrating that our taste remains strong even without visual cues,” Rachel Ferdinando, CEO of PepsiCo Foods U.S., said in a statement announcing the move in 2025. “As part of our broader transformation, we are expanding choices while still protecting our iconic brands. More choices, same flavor, same brand power.”

Other companies that have removed artificial colors from some or all items include General Mills, Target, and Tyson Foods.