My friend @emilynichols shared a story this morning from USA Today called “Marketers such as Starbucks discover that simple sells” my first thought on seeing the headline was “of course!!!”
The article notes (I’ve bolded my fav statement)
Companies that offer products with the fewest number of ingredients compared with rivals stand to win big in 2010, says Lynn Dornblaser, trends guru at Mintel. Mintel has tracked decreases this year in the average number of ingredients in 19 product categories including dairy products, processed meats and even pet foods.
Consumers these days not only want to know what’s in the stuff they eat and drink — they want to know what’s not. In a nation bedeviled by a whirlwind of food scares and mounting worries about the healthiness of a plethora of things commonly used in processed foods, folks increasingly are demanding cleaner food labels: no artificial food colorings (some of which have been linked to hyperactivity in children), no chemical additives (such as MSG) and no chemical preservatives (such as BHA). If they can’t pronounce it, consumers don’t want it.
The new marketing code word being used to boast about fewer ingredients: simple. From 2005 to 2008, there’s been a 64.7% increase in new products using the words “simple” or “simply” in the product or brand name, reports researcher Datamonitor.
In 2010, products that tout simplified labels will be more sought after than those clinging to the formerly hot buzzwords “organic” or “natural,” says Dornblaser.
At its simplest, simple sells.
“The food business has always been ingenious at turning any criticism into a new way to sell food to us,” says Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. The best-selling book popularized the notion of buying only foods with five or fewer ingredients. “As soon as you stress fewer ingredients, you’re implying that the food is healthy.”
I totally agree with Michael Pollan’s statement. Just because something has fewer ingredients doesn’t mean it’s good for you. One of the products that I think really demonstrates this is Soybeans. We think soy and health right? Not so if the soy isn’t non-GMO (non-genetically modified organism).
Out of anyone I know Tim is the best about making sure the foods we buy don’t contain ingredients we don’t want or need. It’s an eye-opening experience to make yourself evaluate everything you put in your shipping cart – not only from what’s on the label but who makes the products to get an understanding of their farming practices….can get a bit scary at times. Next time you are buying pasta, take a look at what’s included – it should just be duram wheat and water right? Let me know what you find.
Our Healthy Living Adventure 