Gatorade beverages are switching from artificial food coloring to plant-based dyes this year, marking a win for the Make America Healthy Again movement, which has sounded the alarm about the health effects of synthetic chemical dyes.
PepsiCo, Gatorade’s parent company, announced that before the end of spring, it will remove artificial colors from all powder stick mixes; by the fall, the company will have removed all artificial dyes from Gatorade Thirst Quencher and Gatorade Zero beverages as well. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. celebrated the decision on Friday.
“Thank you, @Gatorade, for removing artificial FD&C colors and switching to newly @US_FDA–approved plant-based dyes from fruits and vegetables,” Kennedy wrote on X. “I urge every food company to follow your lead and join us to Make America Healthy Again.”
Food dyes, such as Yellow 6 and Red 40, are approved by the Food and Drug Administration but have come under scrutiny from MAHA activists concerned about their possible cancer risks and connection to various health and behavioral effects in children.
In April 2025, HHS announced it would be working with food and beverage industry leaders to phase out these artificial, petroleum-based dyes in favor of natural alternatives. Several other food giants, such as Nestle and Conagra, have pledged to eliminate or reduce the use of FD&C colors in their products in the wake of this push from Kennedy and HHS. Gatorade became the latest to announce its phase-out this week.
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“By listening to consumers, we’re learning more of what they want and don’t want in their Gatorade,” President of PepsiCo Mike Del Pozzo 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 food-dye announcement came one month after PepsiCo announced that Gatorade would introduce a line of beverages with less sugar and no artificial sweeteners. This move also followed Kennedy’s policy priorities at HHS, as the company seeks to use less added sugar in line with the new HHS dietary guidelines.
