Interest in naturalness, minimal processing and clean labeling is no longer new in the food industry. In fact, as long ago as 2008, “Go Natural” led Innova Market Insights’ annual trends listing. Since then, the same concept has emerged each year in different forms and it culminated in a theme behind Innova’s 2017 Top Trends list. Specifically, “Clean Supreme” debuted as the number one trend for this year.
Clean and clear label is now targeted—by consumers and manufacturers alike—as the new global standard. This new, more holistic perspective also comes with greater demand for transparency that incorporates the entire supply chain. Clean label’s mainstream status is illustrated in the fact that more than a quarter of global food and drinks launches recorded by Innova Market Insights in the 12 months to the end of March 2017 used one or more claims relating to naturalness, freedom from additives and preservatives or organic certification. And in the US, more than 30% of new product launches—from March 2016 to March 2017—used one or more of those claims.