Clean Label Guide

A Trend here to Stay

Contents
02 What is Clean Label?
by Andreas Lausberg

08 Clean Labelling: a brief

overview of the most
important EU regulations
by Stefan Zuhn

15 How Clean Labels

influence purchasing
decisions
by Cornelia Kerschbaumer

22 Alternatives to
synthetic colours
by Thomas Holdenried

27 Clean Label on the
beverage market
by Marina Teufel

33 Trends and Forecast Clean

Label international
by Cornelia Kerschbaumer
Introduction

Clean Labelling meets the consumer's desire for healthy foods that
are prepared naturally. More than ever before, we are committed to
our personal health and our well-being. More and more people are
critically questioning what is on their plate and what ends up in their
body. As a result, an increasing number of consumers prefer natural
alternatives, considering the abundant food supply options.

Clean labelling can be an enormous opportunity for product

marketing by manufacturers – provided that the criteria are actually
fulfilled. "The interest in safe food and the concern of its origin has
become a constant theme in our food culture," writes Hanni Rützler
in her Food Report 2019. Uncertain consumers would demand
security and transparency with regard to origin, processing,
ingredients, distribution, and sales.

In this guide, we want to get to the bottom of this subject. The

topics range from EU regulations, the purchase decision,
alternatives to synthetic colours, effects on the beverage market, all
the way to trends and forecasts.

We hope you enjoy reading!

1
What is Clean Label?

2
What is Clean Label?

Clean Labelling satisfies consumers' desire for healthy foods that are
naturally prepared.
It is a sustainable counter-trend to the almost limitless supply of
industrially manufactured food: Today, anyone who stands in front
of the supermarket shelves cannot think of anything that is missing.
From drinks to exotic vegetables, fish, sausages and meats in all
variations, to countless sorts of spices and blends, dairy products,
frozen foods, bread, sodas, juices and wine - the offer is almost
inexhaustible.

At the same time, consumers are more concerned than ever before
with their personal health and well-being. More and more people
are urged to question what they have on their plate and what
eventually ends up in their bodies. As a result, an increasing number
of consumers favour the natural alternative, in the oversupply of
foods.

Clean Eating: 'Clean Food' as a new lifestyle

Due to an increasing call for 'clean eating', the US nutrition expert

Tosca Reno developed the Clean Eating Concept. As explained in
her worldwide bestseller: Your meals should consist of a maximum
of five fresh ingredients and should not involve more than five
processing steps. They should be cooked with cold-pressed oils,
seasoned with plenty of herbs and pepper, but little salt.

3
What is Clean Label?

Clean Eating means an increase in a meatless diet – aiming to

protect the environment – while it is soy that is becoming
notorious. Reno is convinced that 80% of well-being rests in the
diet. 'You are what you eat' takes on a new meaning within the
Clean Eating Concept. 

Clean Eating

Meals should have a maximum of five ingredients

They should be prepared in a maximum of five processing steps
Cooking with cold-pressed oils, fresh herbs, pepper, and very
little salt
As much as 80% of well-being comes from the nutrition

4
What is Clean Label?
Clean Label: The answer to the desire for clean
food
What Clean Eating means in a home kitchen is clean labelling in the
broadest sense in the industry. Clean Labelling describes food
products with known and simple ingredients that are easy to
recognize, understand and pronounce. However, despite the
growing use of the term "clean label" in the fast moving consumer
goods area, there is no universally accepted definition of what
constitutes a clean label product.

However, all foods with so-called clean labels share the following
characteristics: A Clean Label product promises that the product
contains one or more ingredients that are as unprocessed and
natural as possible.

This 'new simplicity” in gastronomy also has a parallel in the Clean

Eating trend. Many new and successful gastronomy concepts are
mono-concepts, where the menu in one restaurant is dominated
above all by a single product with several variations. In this way, they
can provide the highest quality. In her 'Food Report 2018', Hanni
Rützler marks vegetables and all their variants as the new stars in the
kitchen. Top chefs tend to use fewer ingredients in their
preparation.

Clean Label:
Describes those foods (ingredient lists) that contain the most natural
and unprocessed ingredients possible.

5
What is Clean Label?
Good replacement: Less is more

Many Clean Label products use less processed and / or synthetically

produced fabrics that give the consumer a better feeling and are
considered as a healthier alternative.

Common substitutes are for example, the

following:

Colouring vegetable foodstuffs: With Clean

Labelling, artificial dyes can be substituted by
colouring plant extracts and / or colouring juice
concentrates.

Yeast extract: Yeast extract is of natural origin

and is used in some Clean Label Products instead
of flavour enhancers.

Preservatives: For example, preservatives in juices

are mainly replaced by technical procedures,
which make the addition of artificial preservatives
unnecessary.

6
What is Clean Label?

Clean Labelling as an opportunity

Clean Labelling can be used by manufacturers to inform consumers

about or advertise a product because it hits the nerve of the time:
'The interest in safe food and concerns about its origin have
become a constant theme in our food culture,' Hanni Rützler writes
in her Food Report 2019. Anxious consumers would demand
security and transparency in terms of origin, processing, ingredients,
distribution and sales.

This makes Clean Labelling an enormous opportunity for product

marketing. It is assumed, though that, certain criteria are met.

Their implementation is not always easy for the manufacturers: This

is because for many ingredients used it is not easy to find an
adequate Clean Labelling suitable alternative.

7
Clean Labelling: a brief
overview of the most
important EU regulations

8
Most important EU
regulations

The following EU regulations have been drafted for end consumers

as well as for restaurants, hospitals, schools, canteens, and similar
food service establishments. They are the legal basis for the
manufacture and labelling of Clean Label Products:

The Food Information Regulation (Regulation (EU) 1169/2011)

governs the labelling of all foodstuffs, both on the label and, for
example, in advertising. The most important principle is “the fair
information practice" or, in other words: "Food claims should not
be misleading to consumers".

The Health Claims Regulation (Regulation (EC) 1924/2006 on

nutrition and health claims made on foods) was established in
2007 and covers all nutrition and health claims for foodstuffs
across the EU. It applies for nutrition and health claims made in
commercial communications in the form of labelling and
presentation, or in the advertising of food.

In principle, all claims are prohibited unless explicitly permitted

by this regulation. For example, the requirements for "low-sugar",
"low-fat" or "low-calorie" products are defined in the nutrition
claims.

9
 Most important EU
regulations

The health claims all require a list or individual approval. The list
registrations - and denials - are published in a  database
             . Thus, food
business operators can already see in advance which claims are
allowed or have already been rejected. The approved claims can be
used by all food business operators.

Anyone wishing to promote their product with a new, unlisted

claim must, according to the Health Claims Regulation, undergo a
rigorous process of verifying that the promise of a specific health
effect from a particular ingredient of the food is fulfilled.

10
Most important EU
regulations

The Flavouring & Additive Regulation (Regulation (EC) 1334/2008

and Regulation (EC) 1333/2008) declares exactly what are
considered as flavourings or additives and what are not. In "1333",
the list of all additives authorized in the EU is listed by food
category with their "E number". Generally, an additive may be
indicated with either the clear name or the E number in the list of
ingredients. As the short E-number leads to some consumers to
irritation or even rejection of the food, the food companies and
the retail food sector mainly use the plain names. All additives
and flavouring substances will be assessed by the European Food
Safety Authority (EFSA) prior to approval and, if found safe, may
be authorized with maximum use.

Anything that falls under labels such as "no preservatives", "no

colourings" or "no flavourings" must not contain any of the
substances mentioned in these regulations.

11
Most important EU
regulations

Clean Label Products must meet the following

additional criteria:

Additives that are effective only in ingredients: If an additive is

contained in an ingredient that is no longer effective in the product
itself, it must not be labelled on the final product in accordance with
the Food Information Regulation and the Additives Regulation. In this
case, it must be checked in each case whether this must be taken into
account for the "without" or "free from" marking.

Limit values from the EU regulations: For certain claims - for example
"sugar-reduced" - the requirements and, if applicable, limit values of
the EU regulations must be complied with.

Forbidden ingredients do not count: It is forbidden to advertise the

non-usage of ingredients that are prohibited by law. In this case the
claim has to refer to the legal requirements, such as: 'Without flavour
enhancers according to law'. 

For potential double effects, the concrete application case counts:

Some additives can have several functions - for example, the citric acid
has an effect on taste (as an acidifier), but in the consumer
understanding, usually it has also a “preserving” effect because acidic
foods usually do not spoil so quickly. Nevertheless, it is not a
preservative within the meaning of the Additives Regulation. Thus,
foods containing citric acid may be labelled with the words "no
preservatives" unless they contain other preservatives.

Although yeast extract has a flavour enhancing effect, it is not an

additive in the legal sense. Here it must be checked individually, if it is
better to claim “without flavour-enhancing additives” instead of
“without flavour enhancers”.

12
Transparency and good
information are the keys
to a successful Clean
Label Product!
Most important EU
regulations

Clean Label as an opportunity

The desire for healthy, natural, and tasty food stems from diet-related illnesses, food
scandals, and heightened consumer awareness of what they eat every day. This is
where Clean Label starts. Advertising must be in accordance with all laws and must
not be misleading.

14
 How Clean Labels
influence purchasing
decisions

15
Clean Labels and
Purchasing Decisions

During a walk through the supermarket shelves, many purchasing

decisions are made intuitively and in a few seconds – often even in
fraction of a second. What does this mean for you as a
manufacturer?

As is known from studies of purchasers' behaviour, approximately

25% of purchasing decisions are made at the point of sale.
According to the POS
       Marketing
                Report
            2016
        , about half of
customers buy in the supermarket more than what they originally
planned. Especially for FMCG products, the diversity and
interchangeability is so extensive that many purchasing decisions
are based on emotions. Uniqueness is a big advantage: The
measures expecting to influence the purchase decision must match
exactly to the product. The overall concept must be persuasive and
consistent. 

Healthy products are preferred

It is obviously a good advantage to set the added value of health:

Studies across the country show that 'healthy products' are
preferred.

A European study of the European

                 Food
        Information
                    Council
              (eufic)
 
carried out in the UK, France, Poland, and Sweden shows the
following: Consumers automatically consider all products that are
labelled with 'does not contain' to be healthier than the same
products that are not marked with this label. 

16
Clean Labels and
Purchasing Decisions

The investigation covered four types of labels: 'Gluten-free',

'Lactose-free', 'Does not contain palm oil', and 'GMO-free'.

Consumers automatically consider all products with the label 'does

not contain' to be the healthier ones.

Interesting:

In France, apart from the labels 'Does not contain palm oil' and
'GMO-free', the consumers seem to be willing to spend more
money for the 'does not contain” products.

So it seems as if the criterion 'does not contain' is even

presumed.

Gluten-free and lactose-free products are mainly associated with

specific nutritional benefits, while GMO-free labels address
instead the safety needs of the consumers. 

The awareness of consumers, however, goes far beyond those four

labels. Not for nothing would, according to the study by MMR
Research Worldwide, 59 percent of respondents exchange their
usual product for an alternative without artificial additives, 56
percent for the product without E-additives and 51 percent for
products with reduced fat or sugar content. 
 

17
Clean Labels and
Purchasing Decisions

What would the consumers exchange their usual

product for?

59% would choose an alternative without artificial ingredients

56% would choose a product without E-additives
51% would choose a fat-reduced or sugar-reduced food

Transparency creates trust

Accurate and transparent information is therefore the key to the

heart of consumers. According to an international survey by MMR
Research Worldwide, ingredients rank high in the criteria that go
into the final purchase decision: 78% of the Europeans consider
their food ingredients to be an important factor for the purchase.
French and Italian consumers place the highest importance on the
ingredients at 86% each; 89% of respondents from these nations
even stated that they consider the ingredients to be 'very important'.

In Russia, 84% of consumers consider ingredients to be important or

very important, 83% in Germany, 78% in Turkey, 76% in Spain, 75% in
Poland, 69% in the UK, and 58% in the Netherlands.

It should be noted, however, that the Clean Label trend in the UK

has been already established for some time; based on this, the Clean
Label is obviously already seen as a standard.

18
Accurate and transparent
information is the key to
the heart of the
consumers!
Clean Labels and
Purchasing Decisions

The packaging makes it!

Since transparency creates trust, manufacturers can use Clean
Labels for information purposes. According to  MMR
         Research
    
Worldwide, the information on the packaging has a major influence
on the purchase decision for or against a product: The back of the
packaging – including all information such as the ingredients – is
read by 61% of those surveyed in the individual countries. The front
side, however, gets 72% of the attention!

Both sides of the packaging are extremely important parts of the

decision whether to put a product in the shopping cart or to leave it
on the shelf. It is the best option to provide both information about
the product and a presentation of the product on both the front and
the back side to make it most effective. The more messages given at
the front and the rear side, the more credible the product.

The list of ingredients is particularly relevant: As many as 82% of

parents consider a short ingredients list important, while 76% of the
rest of the population pay attention to it. 

By the way, the most noticed ingredients are sugars, followed by

artificial colours, flavours and preservatives.

61% of consumers read the back of the product packaging, the front
side is given 72% of the attention!

20
Clean Labels and
Purchasing Decisions

The following factors are decisive to the purchase of a food or

drink: ( MMR
        Research
                 Worldwide
                 )

Price 86%
List of ingredients 77%
'No Additives' 68%
Nutritional information 59%
Special health claims 56%
Manufacturer or brand 53%
Country, region, or origin 51%

What is your story?

Good information, transparency, and storytelling can help to

influence the purchasing decision. Based on a good story that really
fits the product, it is possible to attach the consumer emotionally.
Clean Labelling helps to achieve this!  

21
 Alternatives to
synthetic colours

22
Alternatives to
synthetic colours

Many Clean Label products are made without artificial colourings or

colourings according to the Ordinance on Additives (E-numbers) –
therefore, natural alternatives are used. Which are they?

They come from sources such as fruits, vegetables and edible

plants. Colour, which occurs in some plants, must be carefully
extracted or dispersed due to their oil-soluble properties. Many
colourings found in fruits and vegetables can be readily extracted by
simple techniques because their pigments are water-soluble.

We give you an overview of the most important colouring options of

Clean Label food and beverages:

NATURAL RED COLOURINGS

Betanin

Beet roots contain the water-soluble pigment betanin. It is sensitive

to light and heat to a certain extent and the colour depends on the
pH, so in the strong acid it is more bluish violet and turns red at pH-
4. In relation to protein, it behaves rather neutral, so that it is
particularly well suited for dairy products but also, for example, beer
mix drinks.

23
Alternatives to
synthetic colours

Anthocyanins

This red occurs in vegetables and fruits containing the pigment

group anthocyanins. It is water-soluble and displays a variety of
colours, including orange, red and blue, all depending on the pH.

Anthocyanins may be red under acidic conditions, such as a fruity-

flavoured jelly gum. However, when the same colouring is used in
milk or grain, it becomes bluer. The main food applications for
anthocyanins are beverages, fruit preparations, confectionery and
water ice.

24
Alternatives to
synthetic colours

As they belong to the group of tannins or polyphenols, they tend to

reactions with proteins and are only conditionally suitable for foods
containing these in larger quantities.

The colour and stability of anthocyanins depends on the plant's

origin. For example, fruits such as sour cherry, aronia, elderberry and
black currant give a beautiful, reddish colour shade. However, the
extracted colour is sensitive to oxygen and may tend to turn brown
over time. Vegetables such as black carrots and red radish are more
stable. Vegetables such as cabbage, black carrot and sweet potato
give a red-violet nuance.

NATURAL YELLOW & ORANGE COLOURINGS

Many foods are yellow and orange in colour, whereby the colour
may come from different raw materials.

Carthamidin

From the safflower, also Carthamus, an extract is obtained which

contains the water-soluble, yellow colouring Carthamidin.

25
Alternatives to
synthetic colours

Beta-carotene

Beta-carotene is the pigment that naturally yellow and orange

carrots contain, as well as mango and oranges.

A juice concentrate of the yellow and orange carrots can be used as

a colouring ingredient, e.g. for confectionery, bakery and beverages.

NATURAL BROWN COLOURINGS

Flavanoids

Like anthocyanins, flavanoids are polyphenols that are found in

many plants, but in contrast to these, they are more in the brown to
beige spectrum. They are contained in fruit juices from apple, pears
or dates, but also in many teas.

26
Clean label on the
beverage market

27
Clean label on the
beverage market

What does the Clean Label Trend imply for the beverage market?
We talked to Emma Schofield, Global Food Science Analyst at the
global market research company Mintel.

Clean label originated from consumers’ interest in naturalness in

food and drink, where consumers sought ‘clean label’ products that
contained as few additives and artificial ingredients as possible.
However, in some countries like Germany or the UK where the clean
label trend is more established, clean label has become more of an
expectation than a selling point.

Transparency and naturalness are set to become an important topic

to beverage consumers in future. Clean label attributes such as
‘short ingredients lists’ are attractive to many, and brands are
reacting to this requirement. A well known beverage brand, for
example, has launched a range of dairy-free drinks with the strapline
‘just three ingredients’ written on the front of the product label.
However, delivering extreme versions of short and simple
ingredients lists is often problematic from a New Product
Development (NPD) perspective, due to the impact on other
product attributes such as taste or price, as examples. 

28
Clean label on the
beverage market
Where do the ingredients come from?

The food industry can help to build consumers trust in food and drink
by offering a greater degree of transparency about ingredients. Offering
consumers details about processing techniques, and ingredient
sourcing, for example, may help to remove some of the mystery around
ingredients that are not ‘kitchen cupboard’ staples that consumers may
be unfamiliar with.

In the beverages sector, sweetening solutions that reduce sugar while

being compatible with consumers’ interest in naturalness and clean
label become increasingly attractive. Plant-derived sweeteners like
stevia are often used as an alternative to artificial sweeteners such as
aspartame, but may fall short on consumers’ expectations for taste.
Conversely, artificial sweeteners may deliver from a taste perspective,
but are avoided by many consumers due to negative perceptions.

Like sugar-sweetened beverages such as carbonated soft drinks,

caffeinated energy drinks have also received negative attention from a
health perspective. Energy drinks with natural sources of caffeine, may
prove attractive as clean label alternatives to conventional caffeinated
energy drinks.

Clean label and naturalness (using natural flavours and colours) are
becoming more important to parents who are buying drinks for their
children. 

29
Clean label on the
beverage market

Clean Label Beverages – Best Practice Examples

Mintel have identified the following examples of how

manufacturers are incorporating clean label into different types of
beverages.

Honest Organic Kids Appley Ever

After Fruit Juice Drink

‘No added sugar’ in children’s

drinks

Features prominent front of pack

claims ‘no added sugar’, ‘no
colours’, ‘no sweeteners’ and ‘no
preservatives’.

Ingredients: water, organic fruit

juices from concentrate (35%)
(apple juice from concentrate
(17.5%), grape juice from
concentrate (17.5%)), natural
flavouring

30
Clean label on the
beverage market

Clean Label Beverages – Best Practice Examples

BodyArmor SuperDrink Orange

Mango Sport Drink

Coconut water for naturalness in

sports drinks

This sports drink contains 10%

coconut water which boosts the
natural image of the sports drink,
because coconut water is a natural
source of electrolytes.  The product
features the claims ’no caffeine’, ’no
colours from artificial sources’, and
’natural flavours and sweeteners’. 

31
Clean label on the
beverage market

Clean Label Beverages – Best Practice Examples

Tonica di Bergamotto

Fruity Bergamot in Italian Tonic Water

The fresh, carbonated version of Tonic

Water uses Quassia with digestive
properties instead of quinine. Bergamot and
citrus give a fresh taste - without aromas
and preservatives.

image source: Mintel / GNPD

32
Trends and Forecast
Clean Label
International

33
Trends and Forecast

The Clean Label movement continues to evolve: while at the

beginning labels such as "organic" or "with natural ingredients" were
enough, the terms meanwhile became more specific. "Free from"
predominates over the so-called "Plus ..." labels.

Naturalness is already presupposed, but the more accurate the

information, the better for the product. This development has
already clearly changed in the US during the years 2013 to 2017.
Meanwhile, clean label claims are strongly favoured over "all
organic" claims. The proportion of launched products containing
the label "no additives" increased from 18 percent to 22 percent. In
contrast, in 2013, 14 percent of new products still carried the "all
organic" label, while in 2017, only 8 percent of the launched foods
and drinks contained this addition. 

Transparency will continue to drive consumer confidence. Claims

that provide clear information about manufacturing and ingredients
will resonate with consumers' needs.

34
Trends and Forecast

Transparency: Clear information becomes significant

While it was sufficient in the past to present claims such as "GMO-

free", "without additives", "without preservatives", etc., it will be more
necessary in the future to provide more detailed information on the
product.

The next generation of Clean Label products will go one step further
and prove that the promise is kept on the label. In addition to the
increasing transparency of information it will be required that not
only the ingredients meet the consumer needs, but the whole
product is made clean and ethically correct. All aspects of the
product must be considered: An environmentally friendly packaging,
the processing and the origin of the ingredients used.

Sustainability: How are ingredients processed?

Sustainable products are evidently associated with healthy products.

For example, 24 percent of US consumers between the ages of 18
and 34 consider foods with sustainable claims to be healthy.
Accordingly, clean label brands should in the future include and
communicate ethical and environmental aspects. In Europe in
particular, animal welfare is given greater prominence, and in the
future, in particular, organic labels will have to educate consumers
about the production of the product.
Source: Mintel

35
The next generation of
Clean Label products will
go one step further and
prove that the promise is
kept and the product is
trustworthy.
Trends and Forecast

However, overloading information would overwhelm consumers,

especially if it is unnecessary. As already indicated from the Mintel
2018 packaging trend "Clean Label 2.0", today's consumers are more
informed than before. They would reject a product that would
confuse them in terms of transparency, origin and authenticity. So
products should provide relevant information that gives clarity!

From "Free from" to "Healthy Hedonism": These food

trends will accompany us

The food trend expert Hanni Rützler has recognized the decisive
developments, in her food reports from 2018 and 2019, which will
continue to accompany us in the next few years in the beverage and
food industry.
Clean food, low-processed foods and plant-based foods are among
the top. (See next page).

37
Trends and Forecast

These are some of the most important trends according to the

expert:

• Free From Food

Foods without allergens and other additives become more
important. This includes also glucose- and lactose free products.

• De-Processing
De-processing meets customer demand for more natural, lower-
processed products with fewer additives. It allows for more
transparency of origin and puts more emphasis on the quality of
raw materials and processing.

• Forced Health
Functional food and superfood are supposed to strengthen our
health in a concentrated form through food.

• Clean Food
These foods do not contain any flavour enhancers and
preservatives. They contain little sugar, low fat and are GMO-free.

• Plant Based Food

Plant foods have become increasingly important. Today, meals
increasingly consist of plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and
vegetable substitutes for meat and fish.

38
Do you have any questions?

The Austria Juice team is always on call to answer your

questions or chat about future business opportunities.
Feel free to reach out at any time.

Contact Us

39