Gel Food Colouring & Gel Food Dye

Gel Food Colouring — The Professional Standard

Gel food colouring (also called gel food dye, food colouring gel, or food colouring paste) is the preferred choice of professional bakers and cake decorators worldwide. Unlike liquid food colouring, gel is highly concentrated — a small amount produces intense, vivid colour without thinning your icing, batter, or fondant. You get bold results with minimal product, and your mixture stays exactly the consistency you need.

Our gel food colouring is available in a full spectrum of shades including vibrant neons, deep jewel tones, soft pastels, and technically difficult colours like true black and super red. Browse the full range above, or use the sections below to find the right gel for your application.

Chefmaster Liqua-Gel Food Colouring

Chefmaster Liqua-Gel is a professional-grade American gel food colouring trusted by bakers and decorators in commercial kitchens and home studios alike. Its ultra-concentrated formula means a very small amount delivers intense, accurate colour — making it excellent value even at a higher price point per bottle. The Liqua-Gel range includes some of the most difficult colours to achieve in baking, including Coal Black, Super Red, and Liquid Whitener.

Available in 0.7oz individual bottles, 2.3oz larger sizes, and bulk 10.5oz professional sizes for high-volume use. Ideal for buttercream, royal icing, fondant, cake batter, and cookie dough.

Vivid Gel Colours — Bake-Stable Food Colouring

Vivid Gel Colours are a bake-stable food colouring — the colour holds true after going through the oven, making them the right choice for colouring batters, doughs, and any application where the product is baked. Many standard gel food colourings fade or shift colour under heat; Vivid Gel does not.

The Vivid range covers a broad spectrum including the popular Electric collection (Electric Blue, Electric Red, Electric Pink, Electric Orange, Electric Purple, Electric Yellow) for vivid neon results, multiple greens (Forest, Leaf, Moss), purples (Regal Purple, Violet, Wine Purple), and professional deep shades including Super Black and Super Red. Available in 160g standard size and bulk 1 litre sizes for production-scale use.

Gel Food Colouring by Colour

Red Gel Food Colouring

Red gel food colouring is one of the most used and most challenging colours in baking. Achieving a true, deep red — rather than a pink or orange-red — requires a highly concentrated gel. We stock two dedicated super red options: Chefmaster Liqua-Gel Super Red and Vivid Gel Super Red, both formulated specifically for deep red results in buttercream, fondant, and batter. Also available: Burgundy Wine for deep wine-red shades.

Black Gel Food Colouring

Black gel food colouring is essential for dramatic cake designs, Halloween treats, and bold monochrome decorating. Achieving a true black without a bitter flavour requires a high-quality concentrated gel. We stock Chefmaster Liqua-Gel Coal Black and Vivid Gel Super Black — both available in standard and bulk sizes. For naturally-derived dark colour, Black Cocoa Powder is also available in our range.

Neon & Electric Gel Food Colouring

For vivid, eye-catching neon results, the Vivid Electric range delivers intense, bright shades that stand out on any cake or confection. The Electric collection includes Electric Blue, Electric Red, Electric Pink, Electric Orange, Electric Purple, and Electric Yellow — all available in bulk 160g and 1 litre sizes. Perfect for galaxy cakes, neon party themes, and bold celebration designs.

Pastel Gel Food Colouring

Pastel food colouring requires a delicate hand — add small amounts of gel to white icing or batter for soft, muted tones. Vivid Gel Pastel Yellow gives a clean, gentle yellow without veering into bright. For other pastel shades, start with a tiny amount of any standard gel colour and build gradually into your white base. Pastel results work particularly well in buttercream and fondant.

Blue Gel Food Colouring

Blue gel food colouring covers everything from ocean-themed cakes to bold party bakes. We stock Vivid Gel Electric Blue for vibrant neon blue and Vivid Gel Royal Blue for a classic, deep blue. Royal blue is a popular choice for ocean cakes, Bluey-themed bakes, and baby shower designs.

White Gel Food Colouring

White gel food colouring (also called liquid whitener) brightens icings and creates a clean white base — essential when working with buttercream, which has a natural cream or yellow tone. Chefmaster Liqua-Gel White (Liquid Whitener) is available in 3.5oz and bulk 16oz sizes, making it suitable for both home bakers and professional production.

How to Use Gel Food Colouring

Gel food colouring is simple to use, but a few tips help you get the best results:

• Start with less than you think you need. Gel is highly concentrated — add a small amount with a toothpick or skewer, mix thoroughly, and assess the colour before adding more.
• Mix into a white or pale base for the most accurate colour results. Buttercream made with unsalted butter, or white fondant, gives you the truest representation of the gel colour.
• For deep colours like black and red, prepare your coloured icing ahead of time and let it rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour. These colours deepen as they sit, so you need less gel than you expect.
• Bake-stable gel (Vivid Gel) is required when colouring batters that go into the oven — standard gels may fade or shift colour under heat.
• Use a clean tool each time you dip into the jar to avoid contaminating the product.

FAQs About Gel Food Colouring

What is the difference between gel food colouring and liquid food colouring?

Gel food colouring is far more concentrated than liquid, meaning you need much less product to achieve vibrant colour. It also does not add moisture to your recipe, so it won't thin your icing, alter your batter consistency, or affect the texture of fondant. Liquid food colouring is more diluted and better suited to light pastel tints — for anything stronger, gel delivers far superior results.

Is gel food colouring the same as food colouring paste?

They are essentially the same product. Food colouring paste and gel paste food colouring refer to concentrated, thick food colouring in gel form. Some brands are slightly thicker than others (more paste-like) while others are more fluid, but they are used the same way and produce similar results.

What gel food colouring is best for buttercream?

For buttercream, Chefmaster Liqua-Gel and Vivid Gel both work well. If you're working with a standard buttercream, either gel will give vibrant results. For very deep colours like black or red in buttercream, prepare the icing in advance and let the colour develop over 30–60 minutes before use. Note: for the most consistent buttercream colour — especially with pale bases — oil-based food colouring such as Colour Mill also gives excellent results.

Is gel food colouring bake stable?

Not all gel food colourings are bake stable. Standard gels may fade or shift colour when heated. Vivid Gel Colours are specifically bake-stable, making them the correct choice when colouring cake batters, cookie doughs, or any mixture that goes into the oven.

How much gel food colouring do I need?

Because gel is highly concentrated, you typically need only a small amount — start with the tip of a toothpick for pastel shades, or a few drops for stronger colours. For deep, saturated colours like black or red, you may need up to a teaspoon per batch of buttercream. Always add gradually and mix fully before adding more.

Do you stock vegan or gluten-free gel food colouring?

Yes. Browse our vegan food colouring and gluten-free food colouring collections for products that meet specific dietary requirements. Halal-certified options are available in our halal food colouring range.

What is the difference between gel food colouring and oil-based food colouring?

Gel food colouring is water-based and works in most applications — icings, batters, fondant, and doughs. Oil-based food colouring is specifically designed for fat-based products like chocolate and candy melts, where water-based gels cause the mixture to seize. For chocolate work, always use oil-based colouring. Browse our oil-based food colouring range for those applications.