Red 3 is banned. Ontra connects candy makers who have to reformulate with verified natural-color suppliers — curated, sample-ready, and matched in no time.
The FDA revoked authorization for FD&C Red No. 3 in food. Every product still using it has to be reformulated — or it comes off the shelf.
Switch off Red 3 and you risk blowing the budget, missing your shade, or breaking a label claim — on a product that's been the same color for decades.
Hundreds of small makers are reformulating off Red 3 this year. You're burning cold outreach to reach them, and competing on price with everyone else.
Natural reds don't behave like synthetic dye. Pick wrong and you blow the budget, miss the shade, or break a claim. Knowing this cold is the whole job — and it's why both sides trust the match.
Natural color runs roughly 2× (beet) to 5–10× (purple sweet potato) the cost of Red 3. We match you to the most cost-effective option that still hits your shade.
Carmine matches Red 3's shade best — but it's insect-derived, so it isn't vegan, kosher-pareve, or halal. Beet and sweet-potato reds stay plant-based, with trade-offs. Your diet constraints decide the answer.
Panned candy is the easy case — surface-coated, low heat. High-heat hard candy is brutal on natural reds. We match the colorant to how your product is actually made.
Not a marketplace. Not a directory. A trust-driven match — and we only earn when a deal closes. Every step does a job for both sides.
Suppliers are screened against Ontra's TCI standard before they're ever shown.
We make the introduction that actually fits — no spam, no noise.
As deals close, the match gets sharper and standing gets earned.
We don't add categories to look big. We start where the pain is sharpest: small candy makers with a 2027 deadline and no color lab of their own.
Don't see your product? If it has Red 3 on the label and a 2027 problem, tell us — we'll source it.
No subscriptions. No upfront fees. The commission isn't a finder's fee — it's a ready-to-buy buyer, delivered and managed end to end. Suppliers are charged only after a successful deal — nothing before.
Deals are built to settle through escrow — payment releases to the supplier only after the buyer confirms the order, so money stays protected until delivery is on the buyer's terms.
Only suppliers who clear Ontra's TCI standard get listed:
Every closed deal lifts a supplier's score — and their ranking in the next buyer's matches. High trust, higher placement.
Tell us your product, your shade, and your constraints. Get a vetted supplier that fits, clear MOQs, and a sample-ready introduction. Always free to you.
I make candy →Real, deadline-driven buyers — no cold outreach, no race to the bottom. Listed and matched at no cost. You pay only when a deal closes.
I make color →