Barishal entrepreneur Jannatul Ferdous has developed natural food colors using extracts from local fruits, vegetables, tree bark and flowers, drawing praise as an alternative to chemical-based food coloring. Her products have been used to make items including pitha, laddoo, cakes and candy. The Barishal divisional Department of Agricultural Marketing supported the initiative, and officials discussed it with Divisional Commissioner Khalil Ahmed.

Ferdous, president of the Barishal district branch of a women entrepreneurs’ development organization, began block-batik work after Youth Development Department training in 2006. She later trained in food processing at Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute in Gazipur in 2024. In 2025, she opened a women’s training centre and established J Tasty Nest in Barishal’s Kaunia area, producing colors from ingredients such as dragon fruit, butterfly pea flowers, carrots, hibiscus, beetroot, spinach and Malabar spinach.

Her natural colors currently have a maximum shelf life of 10 days, after which their quality deteriorates. Ferdous said technology and research assistance are needed to extend preservation. Commissioner Ahmed promised administrative support, while agricultural marketing officials said local natural colors could support safer food and reduce spending on imported artificial colors.