There is a rising global tendency towards food and drinks made of natural ingredients. Consumers are becoming increasingly conscious about healthy nutrition and firmly believe that natural products play a role. Widespread media coverage is generating additional attention for the issue of “naturalness” and influencing consumers’ buying behavior. Consumer organizations and institutes are focusing more and more on natural products in their communication, thus boosting demand. Many manufacturers are already complying with this trend during product development: current market data provided by Innova Market Insights shows that launches of new products positioned as “natural” have increased worldwide these past years.

This trend towards “naturalness” is also leading to rising demand for Clean Label products or food and drinks that contain hardly any or no additives at all. Over 50% of consumers in Germany consider it important that products are free of preservatives, synthetic additives or flavor enhancers, according to a survey carried out by market research institute Ipsos GmbH in 2010. The survey revealed that 42% of shoppers make a point of buying food containing only natural flavors, and around 40% decide in favor of products made exclusively from natural ingredients.

There is also increased demand for organic products and food and beverages from sustainable sources. Current market data provided by Business Insights registers double-figure sales growth for organic products in Europe.