Meeting The Demand For Natural Preservatives

Interest in ‘natural’ food and beverage products is showing no signs of slowing down.

Consumers have become more discerning than ever before - looking at labels for ingredients they recognize before making their decisions. This trend, coupled with growing concerns about the artificial flavour enhancers and preservatives, is leading manufacturers to rethink their formulations. Ensuring additive-free, natural foods that still have a long shelf life, as well as increased consumer appeal and the same great taste, has become understandably difficult. However, recent innovations for refrigerated foods - meats, dips and deli salads for instance - has created an opportunity for manufacturers to replace traditional preservatives with more acceptable ingredients that meet these rising demands.

Natural Popularity

As consumers strive to make more educated purchasing decisions, many are looking for products with natural labelling. Although people still want to enjoy their favorite healthy, convenient products, removing artificial additives or preservatives to create desirable labels can be challenging. Eliminating such ingredients can have a negative effect on taste and visual appearance, impacting overall consumer appeal. This phenomenon is not limited to the developed world: on a global scale, consumers are willing to pay more for products labelled “all-natural”. This has also paved the way for significant growth in the clean label trend, which is quickly becoming a standard for many food and beverage manufacturers.

Across the industry, manufacturers need new and innovative ways to reformulate their products that respond to new consumer trends while not compromising on the quality of the end product.