Dominade Drops Artificial Colors for Foodservice Operators

ASR Group® Professional has reformulated its Dominade® Powdered Drink Mixes to remove artificial colors — without altering taste, shelf life, or the single-step preparation workflow operators rely on. The reformulated SKUs are available to order now through foodservice and hospitality channels.

The move tracks a measurable shift in purchasing behavior. According to Datassential's March 2026 report, 31.0% of consumers say they actively avoid or limit artificial colors and dyes. For high-volume beverage programs in schools, healthcare, hotels, and casual dining, that number creates downstream pressure on operators who face scrutiny from both guests and procurement committees. Clean-label reformulation has become a procurement checkbox rather than a differentiator in many segments.

Why the Reformulation Lands Now

Steve Russell, Vice President of Foodservice at ASR Group Professional, framed the update plainly: operators need products that align with consumer expectations without introducing new prep complexity. Dominade already dissolves instantly in water and can be prepared directly in the dispenser — each foil pack yields two gallons of finished beverage — so the reformulation required no changes to service flow. That operational neutrality matters. Any beverage reformulation that forces a training update or new equipment is a harder sell to a kitchen manager or F&B director managing lean staffing.

Updated packaging also adds bilingual instructions in English and Spanish — a small but meaningful detail for operators running diverse back-of-house teams. The product remains kosher certified and is offered in six fruit and tea flavors. The cane sugar base, supplied through ASR Group's own refining network, remains unchanged.

What This Signals for Beverage Procurement

For operators evaluating their powdered and fountain beverage programs, Dominade's reformulation is a signal worth benchmarking. Clean-label conversions in the powdered drink category have typically lagged behind RTD and juice segments, where reformulation investment is higher. A no-artificial-color claim at the powdered mix tier — with no price increase or SKU change announced — lowers the barrier for operators who have held off on reformulating their dispenser beverage lineup.

Distributors and GPO buyers should also note the bilingual packaging update. As operators expand into markets with larger Spanish-speaking workforces, bilingual on-pack instructions reduce training friction and reduce the risk of incorrect preparation ratios — a real cost driver in high-volume beverage service.

For a broader read on where clean-label positioning is heading in foodservice beverage programs, the Dominade update fits a pattern: ingredient transparency is migrating from front-of-house menu language into the supply chain itself, and vendors who move early on reformulation have an easier conversation with both operators and their own end guests. Operators building or auditing their beverage vendor shortlists should factor clean-label compliance into RFP criteria now rather than waiting for regulatory or institutional pressure to force the issue.

ASR Group Professional's portfolio — which includes Domino®, C&H®, and Florida Crystals® — gives the company significant reach into foodservice manufacturing and distribution, making this reformulation likely to influence category expectations across the powdered drink segment.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.