The popularity of organic products and the promotion of milk and dairy products from grass-fed livestock is also on-trend, as is the growing use of GMO-free labelling.
In terms of product activity, launches featuring GMO-free claims and labelling remain relatively limited on a global scale. While nearly 13% of launches recorded by Innova Market Insights in the 12 months to March 2013 were marketed on an ‘additive-free’ or ‘preservative-free’ platform, nearly 7% were marketed as ‘natural’ and 6% as ‘organic’, just 1.1% used GMO-free labelling.
This figure rises slightly higher in certain countries and regions, notably Europe and Australasia, falling to less than 1% in North America and Asia.
In terms of products carrying GMO-free claims, snacks, dairy and bakery have the largest number of launches, reflecting the significance of GM ingredients in sectors using high levels of cereals for food or feed.
They accounted for 14.1%, 13.3% and 12.5% respectively, of global GMO-free launches recorded, ahead of baby foods, meat, fish and eggs, confectionery and ready meals.
Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation at Innova Market Insights, said: “In addition to the compulsory labelling regulations in place in the EU since the 1990s, there has also been a more recent move to verify and more easily identify GMO-free food and drinks.”
She notes particular interest in using GMO-free labelling for dairy products, with Germany and Austria tending to lead developments. Austria’s ongoing interest in marketing the purity of its dairy products resulted in it increasingly combining the use of pasture milk (Heumilch) with GMO-free labelling.
This trend spread to Germany, as illustrated by Arla’s late-2012 introduction of its Bergbauern Emmentaler and Bergkäse cheeses, marketed as being made with pure pasture milk (Heumilch) and carrying a GMO-free logo.
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