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Cleaning up your labels
Leverage the benefits of the industry’s most enduring movement
At Ingredion, clean label starches and flours are our specialty, but our involvement in the movement goes deeper than innovating in and supplying clean label ingredients. We identified the clean label trend in its early stages over 20 years ago and recognised its relevance to consumers and its potential to drive change in food and beverage manufacturing.
In addition to providing the longest-standing and broadest range of clean label starches on the market, we are recognised as leaders in the field of clean label insights and expertise. Our aim is to add value for manufacturers by regularly publishing independent research, reports and meaningful data on the enduring clean label trend.
We aim to connect the dots between what consumers want and how manufacturers can realistically and affordably formulate to remain relevant, responsive to trends and competitive in the marketplace.
Discover how your business can see return on investment and affordably leverage the clean label trend, guided by Ingredion as leaders in the field.
How can we help?
Contact our experts today to find the right ingredient for your needs.
Consumer influence on the clean label trend
Driven by a range of factors, including technology, greater dietary and lifestyle choices and managing health issues, consumers are more concerned than ever by what goes into the foods they eat.
They seek familiar store cupboard ingredients they trust and use at home and examine nutritional values and claims. Most importantly, consumers know what they do and do not want to see in the food and drink products they buy.
Research indicates that consumers display a preference for clean label foods, with 82% saying that it’s important they recognise, or are familiar with, all the ingredients on a product’s ingredient list when making a purchase[1].
As well as consumer behaviour, market forecasts point towards the clean label trend gathering pace in the coming years. With its value expected to increase by an estimated 6.8% annually, it is projected to be worth USD 47.50 billion (€51 billion) globally by 2023.
What is clean label?
A question frequently asked by food manufacturers is ‘what is clean label?’ The answer can be complex and is best explained by defining what the term does not mean.
Currently, there is no single clean label definition outlined to guide manufacturers globally or by region. Therefore, our experts at Ingredion have developed a clean label definition to define what consumers expect from the clean label food products they seek on the shelves.
Ingredion’s clean label definition
Our definition of clean label food products is those that are:
- Made only with ingredients recognised and accepted by consumers.
- Free from ingredients which sound artificial or misleading.
- Consistent with consumer’s understanding of on-pack claims.
‘Clean label’ is a term that consumers are unlikely to be familiar with. Rather, it is a description adopted and used by the industry to define the above influences and motivations driving change.
In terms of how manufacturers recognise the clean label trend, there is a general view that products containing additives such as E numbers are modified and therefore have the potential to be perceived negatively by consumers.
There is also caution about how ingredients such as modified starch, artificial flavours, colours and anything that sounds like a chemical or artificial ingredient will be perceived by consumers. This includes emulsifiers, texturisers and preservatives.
The chart to the right demonstrates when consumers are buying a food and drink product which of the ingredients are recognisable to them, based on proprietary research commissioned by Ingredion and conducted by MMR Research Worldwide.
Acceptance of ingredients by European consumers
The business of clean label, why you should invest
Transparency and proactively yielding information are key to winning the trust of today’s consumer. Many manufacturers are formulating new clean label food products and reformulating existing products to boost their acceptance and widen their appeal.
However, pressures around protecting margins, maintaining and growing market share and delivering efficiencies means investing in clean label food products has to make business sense.
Our extensive range of over 25 clean label ingredients can help you to achieve the following:
- Replace fat and protein with our NOVATION® INDULGE range of starches, offering a high process tolerance in dairy applications.
- Maintain or Improve texture and stability whilst withstanding harsh processing and freeze/thaw stability utilising our range of NOVATION PRIMA® starches
- Achieve exceptional process tolerance and stability in a range of applications with NOVATION ENDURA® 0100
- Implement our latest innovation, NOVATION® LUMINA, to utilise a high-performance natural texturiser in your most delicate applications
- For clean label viscosity, stabilisation or enhancing mouthfeel in a range of applications our range of NOVATION® functional native starches will support your formulations
Innovation in Clean Label ingredients
Our NOVATION® functional starches began the clean label movement over two decades ago. Our pioneering work meant you could get the texture and stability of a modified starch but with a simpler ingredient listing of maize starch ("corn flour” in the UK). Since then, we’ve broadened our clean label portfolio to include starches of all types, flours and pulses. When you work with us to bring clean labels to market, you benefit from years of experience and leading-edge achievements in clean label innovation.
Our extensive portfolio of clean label ingredients include the following ranges:
NOVATION® starch
Designed to texturise, thicken and stabilise your products, they carry simple ingredient listings such as “maize starch” or “tapioca starch”.
NOVATION® UNO starch
Improved cost-in-use clean label texturisers for highly cost sensitive applications bridging the gap between native and modified starch in functionality and cost impact.
Discover NOVATION® Uno 190 starch
Discover NOVATION® Uno 260 starch
NOVATION PRIMA® starch
These clean label starches ensure products keep their indulgent texture whilst undergoing extended ambient, refrigerated or frozen storage.
NOVATION ENDURA® starch
Delivers a high level of process tolerance and stability for formulations that undergo higher cooking temperatures to formulate clean label products with excellent stability.
NOVATION® Lumina functional native starch
Offers all the functionality of modified starches while delivering optimal flavour, colour, texture and performance. in light-coloured applications with delicate flavours.
NOVATION® Indulge functional native starch
Co-texturisers to replace fat, protein and other ingredients in foods to mimic and improve the texture and mouthfeel, offering increased indulgence, quality and cost savings.
HOMECRAFT® functional flour
Offer the simple labels consumers prefer while maintaining the texture and functionality crucial to the success of your products, and above all, great textures that last.
Instant NOVATION®
Our instant range of clean label functional native starches can help you to eliminate cooking, shorten processing times and provide cold or rapid viscosity in applications.
Organic NOVATION® starch
Certifed 100% organic, you can differentiate your products from the competition, whilst building appealing textures and maintaining a high process tolerance.
Explore the key ingredients for clean label success
Consumer insights are a priority for Ingredion. Download our proprietrary reports to understand why consumers choose clean labels, their ingredient preferences and how you can interpret these preferences to reformulate consumer winning products.
THE BUSINESS OF CLEAN LABEL |
Ingredion present to you the business benefits of using clean label ingredients, helping to grow or maintain your brand identity whilst increasing your return on investment. Discover how clean label ingredients from Ingredion can support your food product innovation and renovation.
The clean label category is becoming more popular every day and will be worth over $50 billion by 2024. Incorporating clean label can support your commercial drivers and deliver healthy business returns.
CLEAN LABEL GUIDE TO EUROPE |
With consumers placing more and more importance on what's in their food, the right product labeling and ingredient choices are more critical than ever before. While manufacturers have been aware of the Clean Label movement for some time, there is a lack of published research on the regional differences that affect it.
We spoke to more than 2800 consumers across 9 European countries to understand what Clean Label means to them. The results were enlightening. Revealing insights on shopper profiles, the importance of front-of-pack claims and ingredient labelling.
To ensure you make the right ingredient choices, and to find out more about how European consumers' perceptions to ingredients differ, download the full guide here.
Cracking the Clean Label Code Report on Dairy & Bakery Products |
To gain an understanding of consumer behaviour and perceptions of clean label products for dairy and bakery applications, read the “Cracking the clean label report”.
For a quick overview of consumer behaviour and perceptions of clean label products for dairy and bakery applications, download the infographic.
THE SECRET INGREDIENT: COMBINING CLEAN LABEL AND FUNCTIONALITY |
Read the Secret Ingredient ebook and learn how to develop clean label claims with genuine consumer appeal to differentiate yourself in the market.
With 64% of European consumers willing to switch brands for a natural claim, extending clean label formulations into new and existing product ranges is a priority. But how to be sure your products are making the right type of natural claim to produce clean label bestsellers? NOVATION® starches, Ingredion’s 25+ strong range of functional native starches, have a 20 year track record in delivering clean label success stories.
A HISTORY OF SUCCESSFUL CLEAN LABEL FOOD STORIES |
As the clean label trend becomes more prominent across Europe, with 78% of consumers taking health claims and ingredient lists into consideration before making a purchase, there is a great opportunity for food manufacturers to build products with a clean and simple label in to their portfolio. Having discovered the trend in its infancy, Ingredion have built up exceptional experience in delivering clean label solutions. Continue reading and you’ll discover how NOVATION® functional native starches have contributed and helped our customers create delicious tasting products with ingredients that consumers understand and trust. It's a great food story.
2020: the future of simple, natural and clean label food |
This report identifies the key trends driving consumer behaviour that will shape the food industry by the end of the decade. It discusses findings from a food industry roundtable hosted by Ingredion which brought together product innovation experts, development chefs, regulatory advisors and ingredient specialists from across the European food sector.
Read about the simple, natural, organic and clean label food trends that you need to know about today, to be prepared for tomorrow.
Webinars |
Increase your return on investment with clean label ingredients in dairy
34 mins
Clean label ingredients are good for business. Join the webinar to see how you can benefit from higher ROI whilst improving your products.
Reforumlate clean label to satisfy your consumer demands in savoury
33 mins
Reformulating doesn’t have to be hard work. Join our webinar to see how you can utilise our technical experts to get the most out of your production line.
Increase margins with clean label ingredients in bakery
45 mins
Clean label ingredients don’t have to be expensive. Join the webinar to see how you can reformulate to grow your business and your bottom line.
Where next?
I want to reformulate but need help
- Finding the right ingredient for your needs can be a challenge, our team of experts are ready to support you when working on new product development, reformulation or ingredient replacement.
I need more insight
- Explore our research reports or download the clean label brochure, it explains how to create products with the label claims consumers want, and the eating experience they enjoy.
I want to sample ingredients
- If you know which ingredient you need in your formulation you can request a sample quickly and simply online. Use our 'how to choose' tools to find the product or products you are looking for.