Strawberry powder is made by drying strawberries, usually by freeze-drying or spray-drying, and milling them into a fine pink powder. Spray-dried powders often contain a carrier such as maltodextrin to help the juice dry, so the strawberry share can vary from one supplier to another.
Because it is concentrated fruit, a little gives a genuine strawberry taste with a light tartness and a natural pink tint. In Koala’s March Strawberry and Pocky Strawberry (Thailand) it is blended into the sweet strawberry cream. Both packs also list added colour (allura red in Koala’s March, carmine in Pocky) and flavouring, which strengthen the pink shade and the strawberry aroma beyond what the powder alone gives.
Strawberry powder itself is not one of the major allergens. Carmine, used alongside it in some products, is made from cochineal insects, which matters for vegetarians.
