Which health claims work in different markets, research
Not everyone agrees on the best methods to lose weight, but nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of global consumers believe they are what they eat, according to market research organisation Nielsen.
So what do consumers look for in the foods that fuel their bodies? While ‘fresh’, ‘natural’ and ‘minimally processed’ foods are most desirable around the world, not all health attributes are equally important around the globe.
Globally, 43 per cent of consumers said ‘all natural’ attributes and ‘GMO-free were very important in their purchasing decisions. ‘No artificial colours’ were considered very important by 42 per cent of consumers globally, while ‘no artificial flavours’ was very important for 41 per cent of consumers. Four in ten consumers (40 per cent) globally said ‘made from vegetables/fruits’ was a very important attribute, and 36 per cent said ‘natural flavours was an important attribute.
‘High in fibre’ claims were considered very important by 36 per cent of consumers globally, and ‘high in protein’ by 32 per cent. ‘Low/no cholesterol’ was considered very important by 38 per cent of consumers, and ‘low salt/sodium’ by 33 per cent of consumers globally. Just under a third (32 per cent) of consumers said ‘low sugar/sugar free’ was very important, and ‘low/no fat’ was considered important by 30 per cent of consumers globally.
In terms of sustainability claims, ‘ingredients sourced sustainably/fair trade’ was considered very important by 35 per cent of consumers globally; ‘organic’ by 33 per cent, and ‘local herbs/ingredients’ by 26 per cent.
Asia-Pacific desirable ‘health attributes’
In the Asia-Pacific region, Nielsen found that the importance of food attributes largely mirrored the global average, with a few exceptions.
The desire for sustainably sourced ingredients (43 per cent) was higher than in any other region except Latin America, where it was a tie. The absence of caffeine is also rated more important in Asia-Pacific (28 per cent) than worldwide (23 per cent).
Europe desirable ‘health attributes’
In Europe, Nielsen found that comparatively smaller percentages rated health attributes as a very important influencing factor for purchase decisions.
In fact, the number of respondents who said a given attribute is very important was below the global average for 24 of the 27 attributes included in the survey. Only GMO-free products were more important in Europe than globally (47 per cent vs. 43 per cent, respectively).
Africa and the Middle East ‘health attributes’
In Africa/Middle East, Nielsen found the percentage of respondents who said a particular attribute was very important in their purchase decisions was higher than the global average for 20 of the 27 attributes included in the survey.
Beneficial ingredients were particularly important to Africa/Middle East respondents, with foods that were high in protein (43 per cent) and fortified with calcium (44 per cent), vitamin (43 per cent) and minerals (40 per cent) considered very important—all above the global average.
Sustainably sourced ingredients were less important in Africa/Middle East than globally (26 per cent vs. 35 per cent, respectively). GMO-free offerings were also less important in Africa/Middle East than around the world (39 per cent vs. 43 per cent, respectively).
Latin America ‘health attributes’
In Latin America, Nielsen found the percentage of respondents who thought a given attribute is very important exceeded the global average for all attributes measured. In fact, the region was more than 20 percentage points above the global average for eight of the 27 attributes.
The “less is more” attributes were particularly appealing in this region, including low/no cholesterol (25 percentage points {pp} above the global average), low/no fat (+24 pp) and low salt/sodium (+22 pp). As in Africa/Middle East, food fortification was also more important in Latin America than globally. The region exceeds the global average for the importance of calcium- and vitamin-fortified foods by 21 and 20 percentage points, respectively.
North America ‘health attributes’
In North America, Nielsen found the percentage of respondents who said a given attribute was very important in their purchase decisions was below the global average for 24 of the 27 health attributes included in the survey.
The only attribute that ranked higher than the global average was the absence of high fructose corn syrup, which was above the global average in both absolute and relative importance, cited as very important by 32 per cent of respondents (compared to 26 per cent globally). North Americans shared identical sentiment with global respondents when it came to foods with whole grain (30 per cent) and portion control (27 per cent) attributes.
