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onsumer interest in clean label or natural companies offer healthier products at their local grocery
ingredients continues to rise. Approximately store. Clean labels and these revised ingredients lists are
C50–75% of consumers believe that products with an attempt to woo over health-conscious consumers. But

natural ingredients or fewer ingredients — or foods with without a verified set of standards behind the movement,
other attributes such as better nutrition, environmental major corporations are struggling to understand what
sustainability or ethical sourcing — qualify as clean label. the term “clean label” means and how their decisions will
Consumers are lately paying more attention to the labels, impact their bottom line.
lists of ingredients, nutritional values and claims. The

clean label ingredients can be identified as emulsifi ers, Consumers can’t seem to agree on what ingredients
stabilizer, and thickeners (EST), fl avour, preservatives, should be considered clean and unclean. Natural
colorants, and others. They are applicable in various sweeteners like fruit juice and cane sugar may be too
industries including bakery & confectionery, dairy & indulgent for some consumers, but for others, this could
frozen desserts, beverages, oils & fats, snacks, meat be the perfect replacement for high fructose corn syrup.
products, and others. All this uncertainty is keeping food manufacturers on
their toes as they struggle to understand their customers’
Clean label is a growing opportunity globally owing to the specific concerns. As a result, some of the largest

health concerns over adverse health effects of artifi cial packaged food manufacturers are seeing a drop-in sale.
ingredients and increasing consumer awareness on the

use of consumer-friendly ingredients that are natural, Some manufacturers have struggled to find the balance
organic, allergen free, non-GMO etc. While posing between switching to natural, clean ingredients and

numerous benefits to society, these label claims help maintaining profits. Returning to the days of using

people make healthier decisions at the grocery store, traditional dairy ingredients or eggs, for example,
make the food industry more sustainable and improve presents issues with price volatility, refrigeration and
our relationship with the environment. But as consumer storage costs, shorter shelf lives, new equipment needs,
demand for healthy, all-natural products continues sourcing, and a host of other challenges. Adding to the
to climb, the food industry is struggling to adapt. difficulty is reformulating products with new ingredients

Manufacturers are scrambling to make a switch to more while maintaining the flavor and consistency of the

natural foods with fewer artificial ingredients. To catch original recipe.
up with the clean label norms, they are vying for real
ingredients from natural sources that can withstand the But food manufacturers will need to raise the bar to
rigors of processing, create an attractive food or beverage remain competitive. Consumers want healthy, natural,
with an enticing taste and mouthfeel, and supply a simple foods, and are actively avoiding foods made with
decent shelf life. chemical modifiers. This is the core of the clean label

movement, and food manufacturers must keep pace by
NATURAL & HEALTHY INGREDIENTS AT THE removing artificial ingredients and chemical modifi ers

FOREFRONT: from their applications, and replacing them with clean,
Changing consumer demand is forcing some of the largest natural alternatives.
food manufacturers in the world to rethink some of their
most successful products. Consumers, have largely been SHIFT IN CONSUMER SPENDING PATTERN:
the ones driving new clean label trend, demanding that The trending technologies & rise of eCommerce shopping

Food Marketing & Technology 18 February 2020