More Americans view ‘free-from’ foods as healthy, Mintel report reveals
Foods bearing “free-from” claims are increasingly relevant to Americans, as they perceive the products as closely tied to health, according to new research from Mintel, an international market intelligence agency. The company’s “Free-from Food Trends, May 2015” report reveals that 84 percent of American free-from consumers buy free-from foods because they are seeking out more natural or less processed foods. In addition, 43 percent of consumers agree that free-from foods are healthier than foods without a free-from claim, while another three in five believe the fewer ingredients a product has, the healthier it is (59 percent).
Among the top claims free-from consumers deem most important are trans-fat-free (78 percent) and preservative-free (71 percent). GMO-free claims are also important to free-from consumers (58 percent), with 35 percent ranking it as one of their top three most important claims. In fact, interest in GMO-free foods (37 percent) among all consumers outweighs interest in foods free of soy (22 percent), nuts/peanuts (20 percent) and eggs (17 percent). Another popular claim for consumers is sodium-free (57 percent), with 40 percent listing it as one of their three most important claims.