Have you had your five a day? Consumers confused about how healthy food and beverage products actually are

• New poll also finds nearly half of shoppers worry that wellness products aren’t healthy
• 51% want to see clear nutrition labeling on the front of these products
• Boosting the immune system is one of consumers' top wellness concerns this year

As Congress considers a new bill calling for standardized front-of-package nutrition labeling, new research released today reveals how much US consumers are struggling to identify healthy food and beverage products. 

Attest, a consumer research platform for the world’s biggest and fastest-growing brands, showed six varieties of cereal bars to 2,000 US consumers and asked them to identify which was the healthiest choice. It uncovered:

• Using the Nutri-Score system, a nutrition label that converts the nutritional value of products into a simple ranking system of letters (A to E), just 9% of Americans were able to identify the healthiest option when shown a selection of cereal bars. 
• One in ten (13%) actually selected the worst of the bunch, which had a Nutri-Score of E.
• From the research, it appears that health-related messaging swayed people’s wrong choices, with phrases such as “whole grains”, “naturally flavored” and “100 calories”.

Although the current nutrition-fact label that can be found on the back of US packaging has been in use since 1990, there still exists a real unease amongst American shoppers about how to decipher whether or not a product is truly healthy. The research further found that just under half (46%) worry that wellness products aren’t actually healthy when shopping for them. 

Four in ten people say they’re concerned that the health benefits of the ingredients haven’t been scientifically-proven, while 32% worry that the amount of active ingredients included isn’t actually enough to make a difference.

Due to such concerns, 51% want to see clear nutrition labeling on the front of products and state that this is the number one factor that would increase their trust in wellness products. 

Wellness ingredients are a recipe for success with consumers

Despite the trust issues around these products, six in ten (60%) of consumers are looking out for F&B products to support their overall health when they shop. So much so that people are prepared to pay a premium for wellness ingredients; 47% will pay a ‘little’ bit more than for a standard product, while 19% will pay a ‘moderate’ amount more, and 9% a ‘lot’.

• The wellness ingredients with the most pulling power in F&B products cited by consumers are protein (65%), pre/probiotics (39%) and Omega-3 (35%). 
• Protein is the ingredient the public most associates with better overall well-being and energy (55%), pre/probiotics with digestive health (60%) and Omega-3 with heart health (45%).
• The F&B products consumers most want to be fortified with wellness ingredients are soups and smoothies (37%), cereals & cereal bars (35%), and dairy products (30%).
• However, 42% of respondents worry the flavor of wellness products will not be to their liking post-purchase.

And better immune health is top of the public’s shopping list

The research also highlights that Americans are aiming to eat their way to better physical health in 2022, with a particular spike in interest around immunity and gut health.

• Nearly half (49%) want food to offer them better overall health and well-being
• ‘Better immune health’ is the second most sought after health benefit from F&B products (44%), followed by better digestive health in third place (39%).

In tandem with this, it looks like the pandemic has also reinforced people’s belief in the benefits of bottled vitamins, with 61% saying they take dietary supplements. Multivitamins or daily vitamins are the most popular type of supplement, followed by vitamins D and C. Respondents say they’re most attracted to ingredient combinations that support better general health (41%), while 24% prefer ingredient combinations for specific health benefits, such as heart health or brain health. 

Jeremy King, CEO and Founder of Attest, said of the research: “The Attest research is a call to action for the food and beverage industry to simplify how it sells its products. This data shows that identifying real, healthy products appears to be a serious difficulty for American shoppers, as packaging messages simply aren’t accessible enough for consumers. With six in ten consumers actively looking to buy health food and beverage products, addressing this issue will be of significant benefit to the industry.”