Clean label confusion

‘Clean label’ continues to trend, but new consumer research from Canadean reveals a lack of consensus over what ‘clean’ really means.

Caribou Coffee and Mars are the latest big players to embrace clean labelling, with the former committed to removing all artificial flavourings by the end of 2016. Mars is phasing out artificial colours from its food and drinks globally over the next five years. But with ambiguity surrounding the term, how much influence will such promises have on consumers?, asks Canadean.

Senior consumer insight analyst Melanie Felgate explains, “The term ‘clean label’ resonates differently among consumers globally, and moreover a third of consumers (34%) do not actually have any understanding of what it means at all. This may reflect the fact that the term ‘clean label’ is more widely used in industry than as a marketing claim in itself.

“However, as the ‘clean’ movement gains mainstream traction, as reflected by the popularity of social media hashtags such as #cleaneating, it is important that marketers understand what ‘clean’ actually means to the consumer.”

Canadean’s Q4 2015 global survey revealed that ‘clean label’ is most likely to be interpreted as meaning products are free from artificial ingredients, are natural or organic, or are chemical/pesticide free, while a smaller proportion of consumers also associate it with other attributes such as being allergen free.

Felgate continues, “The ‘clean label’ term generally resonates with consumers as an indicator that a product is natural or chemical free. However, the fact that a significant proportion of consumers don’t understand the term or interpret it to mean, for example, that a product could be gluten free, suggests that brands should continue to place their marketing focus on core benefits, rather than simply promoting their products as ‘clean’.

“What’s interesting is that in the US where the clean labelling movement is arguably more advanced, almost half of consumers (45%) do not understand its meaning. The lack of clarity may actually turn consumers away from brands marketed in this way, rather than promoting the simplicity that should underpin the ideals of clean labelling.”

So how can brands align with the clean label trend without alienating consumers? The recent approach by US coffee chain Caribou Coffee is a smart one, according to Felgate.

“While Caribou Coffee promotes the removal of artificial flavourings as their ‘clean label pledge’, the message given to consumers focuses strongly on the sensory benefits. The brand emphasises the ‘realness’ of its ingredients to provide a ‘superior flavour’, with slogans like ‘change you can taste’ and ‘it just got real’ taking centre stage. Highlighting these sensory advantages will resonate much more strongly with consumers than relying solely on the potentially confusing clean label message to sell the brand,” she says.

As more brands take steps to remove artificial ingredients from their portfolios, it remains to be seen how much weight ‘clean label’ will have in the future, especially as the philosophy behind the term increasingly becomes the norm rather than an exception. What is clear is that brands cannot rely on clean messaging alone to convince consumers to buy a product. Given just one in 10 consumers would be willing to pay over 5% more for a product claiming to be clean label, brands must focus on other core benefits, such as taste or health, to differentiate themselves and justify a premium.