Ingredient Confusion Could Cause Brand Switching: Study

Consumer confusion about food ingredients leads shoppers not only to consider switching brands, but also to pay more for those brands whose ingredients they understand, according to a study from Label Insight, which surveyed more than 1,000 consumers.

 “2017 Ingredient Confusion Study” found that 83 percent of consumers surveyed are perplexed at least some of the time about ingredients listed on food packaging, 45 percent are concerned when they eat food products that contain ingredients that they don’t understand, and only about one-third completely understand what such packaging claims as “natural,” “healthy” and “clean” mean.

The study also revealed that 60 percent of those surveyed said they trust the brand less when they see ingredients they don’t recognize or find confusing, 35 percent don’t buy a product when they find ingredients on the label that confuse them, almost two-thirds (64 percent) would be willing to switch to another product if they understand the ingredients in that product, and more than half (54 percent) would pay more for a product containing ingredients they understand or recognize.

Consumers are increasingly turning to technology to find answers, the study discovered, with 46 percent of all respondents and 56 percent of Millennials using mobile devices in store for information about confusing ingredients, and a whopping 95 percent of consumers expressing interest in technology that allows them to easily obtain detailed product ingredient information via mobile phone while they’re in the store – 65 percent described themselves as very interested in such a solution.

"Consumer demand for product transparency is on the rise, and when brands and retailers fail to deliver, it erodes brand trust," said Kira Karapetian, VP of marketing for Chicago-based Label Insight. "This study reveals that consumers are not only confused by the ingredients in their food, but willing to adjust their buying habits in order to better understand what they are eating and drinking. Not surprisingly, American consumers are turning to technology to solve this issue. We use our smartphones to purchase groceries, to find the best car mechanic, and to track our fitness levels and sleep patterns – it’s natural that we would use technology to find more comprehensive product information such as ingredient definitions and purpose. The industry is responding and giving consumers the tools they need to improve their label literacy through transparency initiatives like SmartLabel.”

Label Insight is the leading SmartLabel solution provider, powering more SmartLabel pages than any other provider.