bake - March 2015 - 20

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the consumer pulse
Clean Label
FOR CONSUMERS, THE DEFINITION ISN'T QUITE SO TIDY
Driven by a desire to live healthier lifestyles, cleaner label products continue to be a growing area of interest for consumers,
providing both opportunities and challenges for suppliers and retailers. The concept of clean label means different things
to different people and those who understand clean label from the consumer perspective are better positioned to succeed
within the category. In addition to understanding consumer deﬁnitions of clean label, discovering the trade-offs (i.e., shelf
life, ﬂavor, price) they are willing to make to have simpler and fewer ingredients in their products as well as uncovering "red
ﬂag" ingredients that could contribute to the next unexpected market disruption from a consumer advocacy group or food
blogger are important to successfully navigate the waters of the clean label movement.
According to a proprietary research study funded by Corbion among 507 bread consumers, 60% of consumers state that
"type of ingredient" has an impact on their purchase decisions. But similar to the concept of clean label in general, "type of
ingredient" means different things to different people. Of the consumers who ﬁnd "type of ingredient" a consideration in
their purchase decision, the study shows they can be categorized into three segments:
* 43% Nutrition Focused
* 33% Ingredient Focused
* 24% Less Engaged in Label Information
Nutrition Focused consumers place more importance on general health and diet factors. These consumers are more
likely to look at the ﬁrst few ingredients only and tend to be less impacted by length of ingredients listed on packaging,
instead focusing on nutritional information like higher levels of protein or low/reduced in calories, fat and sugar. Ingredient
Focused consumers place more importance on speciﬁc ingredients and are more likely to read the entire ingredient list.
These consumers are more likely to believe that the shorter the ingredient list, the healthier the product. As you might expect, there is a higher correlation between the Ingredient Focused consumer and organic shoppers, with 32% stating they
were organic consumers. Less Engaged consumers were found to be most impacted by price and tend to skip reading
the ingredient list or nutrition panel altogether. An exception to this might occur when prompted by media or peer buzz.
As consumers become more engaged, their likelihood of not purchasing a product because it contains certain ingredients
increases. For instance, Corbion's consumer research showed that PHOs, ADA, Calcium Peroxide and Ethoxylated Monoglycerides were ingredients that had the greatest inﬂuence on lower purchase intent. Knowing that market disruptions
will likely continue to be a catalyst for label checking behavior, the impact on purchase behavior for products with those
ingredients could be signiﬁcant.

CONSUMER TRENDS DRIVING CLEAN LABEL
Consumers are most likely to skim the ingredient list when shopping for a new product
When shopping for a new product, 1/3 of shoppers report they look at the ingredient list most (75%) of the time. However, less than 1
in 5 consumers actually read the full list of ingredients.

Reason for Looking at Ingredients List
Look to see if certain ingredients are included
48%

42%
21%

Look to see if certain ingredients are excluded
Just look in general

When Reading Ingredients, Usually...
Look at ﬁrst few ingredients only
Read the ﬁrst half of the list

19%
14%
49%

Skim the full ingredient list
Read full ingredient list, in detail

18%

SOURCE: CORBION PROPRIETARY CONSUMER RESEARCH STUDY

what our experts say
Balancing the removal of ingredients with consumer choice drivers is a critical step in making better choices for the products companies produce,
but the deﬁnition of clean label is not so tidy. Overall, consumers do not want to think about the ingredients in their food but they will when they
experience health concerns or disruption in the market. As consumers continue to aspire toward healthier living, health and wellness behaviors
such as reading packaging labels are becoming more prevalent. However, one size does not ﬁt all and consumer segmentation is vital to understanding the evolving health and wellness landscape. Companies will need to consider their core customer base when developing and marketing
cleaner options. As we learned in our proprietary research, there are two clear groups within the bread category; ingredient focused consumers
and nutrition focused consumers, and the drivers of purchase vary for each. Transparent labeling and messaging will be critical as these consumers continue to seek out information about what is contained in the products they are buying.

- Marge O'Brien,
Senior Manager,
Global Consumer

bake - March 2015

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