The so-called “clean food movement,” like the foods it promotes, is growing and even thriving among some demographics. This involves foods and ingredients loosely defined by health seekers as unprocessed, without preservatives and with minimal sugar. However, as the clean label retail market grows, food entrepreneurs seek out new definitions of “clean,” allowing them to pave the way for untapped categories of food products.
Enter the latest clean label player: raw! Raw eating is portrayed as a “higher level” of clean eating. The idea is to eat food in its most “natural state;” with produce “pulled from the earth;” grains and seeds allowed to sprout; and then wrapped up in packaging and sold at organic supermarkets. It is not only free of any added ingredients, but billed as a “living” food containing its full complement of enzymes and probiotics. Eating raw, living food is considered the new generation of clean eating.