LFTB reflects transparency trend in new product development
DALLAS —Mintel’s Lynn Dornblaser opted to devote only one slide in her presentation to lean finely textured beef, but it provided the bigger-picture context in new product trends that consumers are seeking transparency.
“Consumers are concerned about their food safety,” she said here at the AMI Expo. “That’s one reason why (LFTB) became an issue. Frankly, they don’t understand the process (that makes LFTB). They don’t understand what it is you guys do.”
The lesson, Dornblaser said, is that processors need to help consumers understand their processes and the ingredients — what LFTB is, for example — in their products.
Some manufacturers are doing so rather overtly. For example, the ingredient deck on Nestlé’s Milky Bar Giant Buttons in the U.K. explains in red letters that “emulsifier lecithin” is “made from soya beans and holds ingredients together.” In doing so, Nestlé has demystified its ingredients and explained their function.
Explaining ingredients on pack is part of a larger trend of mainstreaming “natural.” The trend isn’t about natural claims; in fact, such claims are on the decline as consumers are looking for more specific information about the actual contents of their food, and products claims of “no additives and preservatives” and “vitamin/mineral fortified” are on the rise.
Dornblaser urged processors to continue using “expressions of goodness” about their foods. Perdue’s $5.1 million TV ad campaign featuring the company’s chicken farmers talking about how they raise their animals is an example.
Mainstreaming natural was one of four large trends Dornblaser covered. The others were “Wellness in inescapable,” which was exemplified by Jimmy Dean Delights breakfast quesadillas containing egg whites and turkey sausage; the “Authenticity of Where,” which is emerging as a more inexpensive alternative to “local” in pairing a product with a familiar location (as in Champagne, a region of France); and “Value,” including the rise of private label foods that clearly state their position as either “premium” or “economy” and an opportunity for branded products to follow suit.
