Nearly half of consumers (47%) cite ‘all-natural’ as their most desired food attribute (up 44% from last year) , a new report from Euromonitor International shows.
In its rankings, ‘no artificial ingredients’ is number two, ‘non-GMO’ is three (with strongest interest coming in North America), ‘limited/no added sugar’ takes fourth place and ‘no trans fat or hydrogenated oil’ is fifth.
When consumers were asked what attributes they most associated with the natural label, ‘chemical-free’, ‘no artificial ingredients’, ‘also organic’, ‘does not contain GMOs’ and ‘healthier than a non-natural products’ too the top five places.
However, a significant percentage of consumers do not trust ‘natural’ claims and believe brands use them to charge more or give their products a ‘health halo’.
Lisa Holmes, senior survey analyst for Euromonitor International, told foodbevcom : “Natural product features seem to appeal to consumers in a way that more specific green labels such as eco-friendly and organic do not. 55% of respondents look for natural features when buying products in at least one category, compared with 41% who look for eco-friendly features and 39% who look for organic. ‘Natural’ labels are especially important to consumers when they are deciding what food to buy.”
