Americans Think Free-from Foods Are Healthier
New research from Mintel reveals that 84 per cent of American free-from consumers buy free-from foods because they are seeking out more natural or less processed foods, as they perceive this type of products as closely tied to health.
In fact, 43 per cent of consumers agree that free-from foods are healthier than foods without a free-from claim, while another three in five believe the fewer ingredients a product has, the healthier it is (59 per cent).
Among the top claims free-from consumers deem most important are trans fat-free (78 per cent) and preservative-free (71 per cent). GMO-free claims are also important to free-from consumers (58 per cent), with 35 per cent ranking it as one of their top three most important claims.
Interest in GMO-free foods (37 per cent) among all consumers outweighs interest in foods free of soy (22 per cent), nuts/peanuts (20 per cent) and eggs (17 per cent). Another popular claim for consumers is sodium-free (57 per cent), with 40 per cent listing it as one of their three most important claims.
“Fat-free may seem like a claim whose best days are behind it, but there is strong consumer interest in such free-from foods, especially trans fat-free, no doubt owing to widespread concern about obesity in the US and its related health consequences. Health issues appear to be top of mind among US consumers when seeking products bearing a free-from claim, including those related to heart health and allergies,” said Billy Roberts, Senior Food and Drink Analyst at Mintel. “Mintel data also shows elevated interest in the GMO-free claim, which ranks among the top four most important claims for many consumers and is more important than soy-free and nut/peanut-free foods.”
Harmful ingredients
Overall, Millennials (60 per cent) and Gen X (55 per cent) are much more likely than Baby Boomers (46 per cent) to agree that they worry about potentially harmful ingredients in the food they buy. Despite this, just 37 per cent of consumers overall agree that products with free-from claims are worth paying more for.
While one third of Baby Boomers believe allergen-free foods are a fad (33 per cent), one in five consumers overall would like a full list of ingredients related to food allergens on product packaging (18 per cent). Millennials’ interest in free-from food claims coincides with product launches in recent years, according to Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD). In 2010, 11 per cent of food product launches featured a low/no/reduced allergen claim. By 2014, 28 per cent of food product launches boasted the claim, the highest of any free-from claim last year.
While 70 per cent of Americans buy free-from foods for health and nutritional reasons, personal well being is not the only driving factor. Consumers also believe that free-from foods are closely tied to the health of the planet.
Daily snack
On the other hand, Americans are incorporating snacking into their routine, along with three meals per day.
Mintel research shows that 94 per cent of Americans snack daily, with two thirds snacking multiple times per day (65 per cent). Despite the propensity to engage in snacking, consumers associate snack products with harmful ingredients such as GMOs and artificial elements. In fact, nearly half of Americans (46 per cent) agree that snacks typically include controversial ingredients when compared to other food categories. However, nearly one quarter of snack product launches in 2014 included no additives/preservatives (23 per cent), low/no/reduced allergen (25 per cent) and/or low/no/reduced trans fat (21 per cent) claims, according to Mintel GNPD.
“Overall, Mintel data indicates that consumers perceive foods with any free-from claim to be both healthier and less processed. Additionally, consumers appear to be equating genetic modification, artificial and unhealthy as one and the same, and those consumers are likely to turn away from product labels with unfamiliar ingredients or ingredients perceived as chemically complex or unnatural”, continued Roberts.
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