Consumer demand for healthy, natural food products is here to stay, and the industry is adapting to these expectations with clean label foods. But the clean-label concept has expanded beyond healthy foods and conscious consumers, and companies are going beyond tweaking ingredients and packaging: clean label Product Development is leading the way to a new generation of innovation. 

What is Clean Label Product Development? 

While over 60% of European consumers read back-of-packaging ingredient labels when making purchasing decisions, 31% find packaging labels difficult to understand, and less than half of them trust product packaging information. The clean label concept is designed to help those consumers find the information they need to trust products and brands, by prioritizing the simple, natural ingredients people would find in their own kitchens. 

Perhaps more importantly than consumer expectations, the clean label concept has propagated throughout the food industry supply chain, with retailers prioritizing clean label products, and manufacturers increasingly relying on clean label ingredients. Some recent developments in the clean label industry include: 

  • Cargill has announced Cargill Clean Label, a new line of food and beverage ingredients that are simple, delicious, and nutritious
  • Kerry Group’s recent acquisition of the Niacet Corporation and its portfolio of natural, clean label food ingredients. 
  • ADM Food Technology has launched a new line of clean label food colorants called ADM Colors From Nature™, with the ambition to offer new clean label ingredients in coming years.
  • Oterra provides natural color solutions for manufacturers seeking clean label declarations, free from artificial colorants and additives.

While the term “clean label” is not a standard, the concept is simple, clear, and consumer-friendly. Unfortunately, in the absence of specific rules and guidelines, some member states may step in to define a clean label standard, which would call for different levels of compliance. 

The Importance of Clean Label Product Development

In response to consumer demands, many food and ingredient companies began by revising product packaging, seeking to make labels simpler and more consumer-friendly. Then many food brands revised their formulations, seeking more natural preservatives, stabilizers, colors, and other functional ingredients. Now, established food brands and start-up innovators are seeking new food and beverage products that are clean label from inception, and clean label NPD is a high priority throughout the industry. 

The challenges of clean label NPD are immense. Consumers want the same taste, quality, and visual appeal of the packaged and ready food products they have become accustomed to, without the addition of unwanted ingredients or a higher retail price. Food and beverage ingredient companies struggle with the fact that there are a number of healthy, organic ingredients that have complex or unfamiliar names, and are therefore perceived as being unhealthy or unnatural. Product development teams and marketing departments have to collaborate closely to create new products, and to communicate their clean label message to consumers. Clean label brands must also have robust legal and regulatory teams, to ensure that product claims are compliant with current standards, and to take a proactive approach to future guidelines and expectations. 

The global clean label ingredients market grew by 20.7% between 2018 and 2022, and is expected to expand by another 16.2% by 2033. These ingredients also pose new opportunities in the Asia-Pacific, due to the rise of an increasingly health-conscious middle class. For food and beverage companies to take advantage of these enormous opportunities, they need not just highly qualified R&D teams in the lab, but they also need first class QA, legal, and regulatory staff to stay ahead of the curve. To recruit the talent that supports innovation, contact Grapefrute today.