‘Healthy’ and ‘natural’ continue to drive the clean label trend [Interview]

“Another important step in the clean label trend has been the development of ingredients lists that are authentic to a traditional recipe that consumers would follow when making products at home,” says Schofield. “For example, flour or starch ingredients would be expected in bakery products, but not in products like yogurt when added as thickeners.  Therefore, an ingredient may be compatible with ‘clean label’ in one product, but not in another.”

“‘Short and simple’ refers to the use of ingredients that are found in an authentic recipe,” says Schofield. “As such, a packaged lasagne would not be expected to contain ‘just five’ or ‘just four’ ingredients, but rather to contain ingredients that would be found in a traditional lasagne recipe.”

“Consumers today demand foods with ingredient lists that are compatible with their expectations for clean label,” says Schofield. “However, clean and natural ingredients often carry higher price points, and may impact other food and drink properties such as sensory attributes and shelf life. Consumers may not be prepared to pay more for clean label ingredients, especially if other attributes are compromised by substituting ‘regular’ ingredients with ‘clean’ ingredients.”

“Consumer interest in natural and fresh foods will continue to secure opportunities for clean label ingredients,” says Schofield. “The fundamental of the clean label trend still concerns developing food and drink without artificial ingredients. However, in regions like Europe, the clean label trend is very established, and so this alone may no longer deliver a point of difference because ‘clean labels’ have become an expectation.”

“Consumers’ definition of a healthy food is not limited to the information on the nutritional panel, but encompasses attributes linked to naturalness, too,” she says.