Mintel Report Highlights Top On-pack Product Claims

A recent report from Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD) has pinpointed the most frequent health-focused on-package claims for new products in the food and beverage industry. For 2011, the top claim was “kosher,” appearing on 27 percent of new products, more than twice as often as the second most popular claim, “all-natural.” Rounding out the top five were “no additives/preservatives,” “low-/no-/reduced-allergen,” and “gluten-free.” Coming in close to the bottom of the list was “no high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS),” which made up just 2 percent of product introductions.

“New product introductions in the U.S., across all categories, usually total more than 20,000 in most years,” noted Lynn Dornblaser, director, innovation and insight at Chicago-based Mintel. “Those with ‘no-HFCS’ claims only accounted for about 400 new product intros in 2011, or only 2 percent. By comparison, they’re a very small part of the market.”

The results echo a 2011 consumer study conducted by Mintel that revealed HFCS to be a low priority for shoppers. According to the earlier research, only 4 percent of consumers said they were looking to avoid HFCS, and 3 percent said that they were reading labels for HFCS.