Blue raspberry flavor is a manufactured flavoring and food coloring for candy, snack foods, syrups, and soft drinks. The flavor and color do not derive from any species of raspberry, but rather the flavor was manufactured using "mostly esters of the banana, cherry, and pineapple variety". Sugar is commonly used to create taste appeal for the blue raspberry flavoring. Food products labeled as blue raspberry flavor are commonly dyed with a bright blue synthetic food coloring, such as brilliant blue FCF (also called Blue #1) having European food coloring number E133. The blue color was used to differentiate raspberry-flavored foods from cherry-, watermelon-, and strawberry-flavored foods, each of which is red.

Blue raspberry flavor and color were first used in the United States in 1958 to add interest to snow cones. The synthetic blue raspberry flavor we know and love is actually modeled after raspberries—just not the ones you see in the produce section. Instead, it’s inspired by Rubus leucodermis, a variety native to the western United States. It’s also known as a blackcap, or white bark raspberry. The flavor tends to be more tart than its red counterpart, with some comparing it to the flavors of pineapple or citrus.

The blue raspberry flavor has a basis in nature. The flavor we know and love originates from the Rubus leucodermis or Whitebark raspberry. This raspberry varietal is nowhere near as vibrantly blue as candy manufacturers lead us to believe, but they do exhibit a deep purple/indigo color that may have inspired the name "blue raspberry". The addition of blue dyes to whitebark raspberry flavored items began in the 60s and 70s, when commercial ice-pops became staples in middle-class American households. These ice-pops came packaged in thin, clear plastic tubes. The right color was a crucial marketing objective. At the time, blue dye was available to these food manufacturers, and had not yet been employed as no fruit "needed" this coloring. As it turned out, blue raspberry was created—along with blue tongues.

In summary, blue raspberry flavor is a manufactured flavoring and food coloring that does not derive from any species of raspberry. It is commonly used in candy, snack foods, syrups, and soft drinks. The flavor is modeled after Rubus leucodermis, a variety native to the western United States, and tends to be more tart than its red counterpart, with some comparing it to the flavors of pineapple or citrus. The blue color is achieved through the use of synthetic food coloring, such as brilliant blue FCF (also called Blue #1) having European food coloring number E133.