Making clean and simple a way of life

Consumers want products that are the closest thing to nature—made from ingredients that are understood, expected and authentic. That means clean and simple labels with fewer, yet familiar ingredients, free from undesirable additives. These insights, based on research, fuel our efforts in meeting the clean and simple trend and enable you to deliver products consumers will purchase again and again.

What consumers really want

We make it our business to understand what consumers around the world want in their products. Research points us to the insights that determine where we focus our efforts^[1]:

Free-from.

Many times, consumers perceive “natural” food and beverages as products that are free from ingredients they want to avoid. This perception is a driver in the free-from trend, meaning that products are differentiated by being free from artificial ingredients, gluten and other allergens, and GMOs. Of course, consumers still want the taste, texture and other qualities those ingredients traditionally bring to their applications.

Transparent.

Consumers want to see labels that are clean and short with recognizable natural and simple ingredients. In fact, 73% of consumers find it important that they recognize a product’s ingredients^[2].

Simple.

Consumers prefer to see ingredients in a product that are exactly what you’d expect if it were homemade. Some 63% of consumers say a short and simple ingredient list is important^[3].

Healthy and safe.

Most shoppers perceive “natural” products as healthier and safer. Therefore, a clean label can be much more than an aesthetic preference. When you provide products with simple and healthy ingredients people understand and feel good about, you build trust in your products—from the label in.

Natural vs. non-artificial.

Research also reveals that “natural” beats “no artificial ingredients” in product appeal, yet “no artificial ingredients” may cause more consumers to switch brands^.[2]

Familiar.

We have developed deep consumer insights on consumer perception of ingredients. For instance, we know which ingredients consumers think of as “familiar,” such as flour, and which remain “unfamiliar,”2 such as monosodium glutamate (MSG) 

All of these findings help us better guide you to product formulations that can win consumer approval—and deliver all-important sensory appeal. 

[1] HealthFocus International, Natural Survey, USA 2013

[2] Ingredion proprietary research, MMR, Consumer Study, 309 consumers, USA, April 2015

[3] Natural Marketing Institute, April 8, 2015