Create simpler, cleaner products with innovative ingredient solutions

Consumers want products that are closest to nature — made from ingredients that are understood, expected and authentic. This means they want clean and simple labels with fewer, yet familiar ingredients, that are free from undesirable additives. We use consumer insights, based on research, to deliver innovative ingredient solutions that support today’s clean and simple lifestyles — enabling you to meet consumer demand for label-friendly products.

What consumers really want

We make it our business to understand what consumers around the world want in their products — so we can offer you new, innovative ingredient solutions that give you the ability to develop cleaner, simpler products that consumers will come back for. 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 clean labels that are 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 with simple labels. 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, so clean labels can be much more than an aesthetic preference. When you provide products with healthy ingredients and simple labels 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 innovative ingredient solutions and 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