Marketers are finding that fewer additives, ingredients and parts are attractive qualities as consumers yearn for simple in these complex and occasionally chaotic times.
According to Mintel, which has tracked the average number of ingredients in 19 food categories, less will mean more sales in 2010. Lynn Dornblaser, Mintel's new product expert, told USA Today, that labels boasting a minimum number of ingredients will become more popular than those pushing "natural" or "organic" in 2010.
Datamonitor reports that new products with the words 'simple'
or 'simply' in the brand name or on the label grew nearly 65 percent
between 2005 and 2008.
Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University, thinks that healthy foods with fewer ingredients is a good thing that other consumers recognize. "Any trend towards less processing is good," she told USA Today.
Discussion Questions: What do you think is behind the demand for products with fewer ingredients? Does the desire for simpler extend beyond foods to other product categories and retail store environments, as well?