Don’t underestimate Baby Boomers’ mounting interest in clean label foods

The “clean” concept has made significant inroads across the food system over recent years. Whether applied to meat, produce, grains or just plain living, clean has become a consumer purchase driver. With that in mind, Hartland, Wis.-based Charleston|Orwig, a full-service strategic communications agency serving brands across the food system, worked with two research partners, Maeve Webster of Menu Matters and Confidential Consumer, to poll 500 Americans about their perceptions and food buying preferences related to clean food labels. Results were insightful and intriguing.

While almost half of Americans have no tie to the clean label concept, approximately 41 percent of Americans actively seek products with the clean label designation with some regularity. Not surprisingly, almost half of those purchasers are millennials under the age of 35. However, a more unexpected finding reveals 30 percent of individuals who purchase clean labels with some regularity are actually older than 55. “Interest in clean food labels does not skew more heavily young or old, but reflects how informed consumers are about healthy eating and what drives them to purchase clean labels,” said Mark Gale, CEO of Charleston|Orwig.