Clean label, commonly defined as a short list of identifiable, more natural ingredients, has been trending upward for years. Food and beverage manufacturers have been constantly working to keep up with these new “free from” trends happening around the globe. Health and wellness goals are closely correlated to product packaging claims, and in recent years, we have seen a shift toward something larger than the absence of additives.
Ingredient-, process- and sourcing-related claims are emerging as consumer interest in how food and beverages are made grows. Consumers want to know the exact ingredients used and where those ingredients came from. This causes brands to be more transparent, finding ways to reformulate and restructure their communication strategies, thus evolving clean label from a trend to an expectation.