That’s according to David Jago, director of innovation and insight at Mintel. Speaking at a presentation on the Changing face of natural at the IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo 2012 in Las Vegas, Jago said: “Claim free may be a trend for the future toward products with clear benefits that don’t need to be supported by complex front of pack claims.”
Jago and Lynn Dornblaser, director, consumer product group trend insight research consultancy, gave the presentation jointly, singling out several examples of product launches with ‘natural’ or ‘pure’ claims. Jago said these could be a precursor to pursuit of foods containing only simple, straightforward ingredients.
Real fruit and vegetable content
Although ‘all natural’ and ‘pure’ trends were most prominent in the US, they could also be seen across the globe, they said. Examples included products with real fruit and vegetable content. Alternatively, manufacturers could opt to explain what ingredients did.
One example of this had been Nestle’s 2011 UK launch of Milky Bar White Chocolate Buttons, where the company had quite simply explained all the ingredients on the back of the pack, said Dornblaser. For example, in brackets after soy lecithin it had written: “made from soya bean and holds the ingredients together”.
Significantly large proportion of confectionery items
Other examples of products launched over the past 18 months that were showcased in a tasting session after the seminar included a significantly large proportion of confectionery items. Many were aimed at children.
Fruitella Moo Mix children’s gummy candies, highlighted by Mintel in April 2012, Buddy Fruits Pomegranate and Acai Drops from Brazil, which had been launched at about the same time were illustrations. Others included Ocean Spray Fruit Snacks, which Mintel drew attention to in March 2012, and Sharkies Smart Twists Tropical Wave Flavoured Fruit Snack from the US, recognised by Mintel in March 2012. Sharkies drew attention to its 100% real fruit and omega 3 content.