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New research from Mintel has revealed that less than half of the American population consider their diet to be healthy, with 42% making the claim.
The research also found that less than two in five consumers agree that healthy foods are worth the added expense and just 44% pay attention to serving sizes.
Billy Roberts senior food and drink analyst at Mintel said: “Despite the fact that we’re seeing such a widespread and growing interest in healthy foods, relatively few Americans believe their diet is healthy. With consumers largely wary of even regulator-approved health food options, marketing healthy foods to sceptical consumers requires far more than merely an on-pack promise.
“The key to attracting these consumers is convincing them that products actually deliver on the healthy attributes they promise and that they are truly good for consumers and their families.”
Elsewhere, the research also stated that Americans generally appear to be largely distrusting of food brands as just 14% of the population believe regulatory approval indicates a food is healthy and just 16% trust the health claims on food and beverage packages.
Under one quarter of consumers agree that the US dietary guidelines are good for them. While genetically modified appears farther down on the list of ingredients consumers avoid when shopping for healthy foods with 29%, consumer dislike of GM foods nearly matches their dislike for foods with artificial ingredients.
More than one in five Americans say that they would not feed GM foods to people in their household, with nearly half agreeing that GM foods are not suitable to eat, rising to 58% of consumers with a household income under $50,000.
“Media coverage has focused on the debate surrounding GMO labelling of late, even as consumers are much more likely to avoid artificial ingredients than GMOs,” Roberts continued. “Arguments indicating genetically modified foods as a means of combating global hunger are failing to sway consumers as anti GM campaigns have highlighted the risk of genetic modification on surrounding crops and attempted to capitalise on a general fear of ‘frankenfood.
“While many consumers are avoiding certain ingredients when purchasing better-for-you foods, Americans are seeking out foods with added health attributes, namely protein, fibre and whole grains, indicating an opportunity for foods with added-health attributes to target consumers with health claims on pack.”
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