New Ingredion report: Which is the key to future of clean and simple food

 
Transparency, trust and technology are the key themes to emerge in Ingredion’s new report into the future of clean and simple food.

Mobile technology and social media will increasingly facilitate consumer access to wide-ranging food related information. From farming and production methods to ingredient sourcing and product composition, technology will drive transparency and build trust between manufacturer and consumer.

“2020: The Future of Simple, Natural and Clean Label Food” draws together the views of industry experts including regulatory consultants, ingredient suppliers and food futurologist, Dr. Morgaine Gaye. It looks at how the clean and simple landscape could develop and the level of impact on the food sector. The future of four current food industry trends are explored in the report: clean label, natural, free-from and organic. 

Dr. Morgaine Gaye, food futurologist, comments: “The demand for clean and simple foods is informed by wider macro trends such as imperfection and disruption, and the shift at a societal level away from the perfect. (…) At a micro level, the trend towards quieter, simpler labels will continue. Consumers are jaded about the back stories crammed onto labels and often don’t believe them.”
Alongside clean and simple, the rapid rise of the free-from market is expected to continue and as choice and quality of products increases, it will become established as the norm among consumers. Complementing free-from will be an increase in positive messaging.
Charlotte Commarmond, European marketing director at Ingredion, explains: “The range and quality of products that are free from allergens will improve as ingredient replacement, formulation and manufacturing techniques become more sophisticated. As such, the perception that these products compromise on quality, will disappear”. 

Findings in the report include:
•    Ease of access to information on food production and ingredients will bring greater transparency and create more trust between manufacturers and consumers
•    Technology, particularly mobile and social media, will be a key driver in label simplification
•    Labels will be quieter with less ‘story’ and more inference as information increasingly shifts online
•    Sustainability, seasonal and local will overtake organic to become the consumer drivers of choice
•    Personalized nutrition begins to emerge as technology drives diagnostic advances
•    Minimal processing will continue with the emphasis on recognizable ingredients and making the most of what is available in its unmodified state.