Additive-free tops beverage claim list

Preservative and additive free knocked low sugar off the top spot of leading beverage claims in 2007, according to the Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD).

Widespread concern about exposure to cocktails of preservatives and additives has intensified over the past year, pushing manufacturers to begin removing them from their products.

Preservative and additive free products boom
Scanning last year's Mintel GNPD data showed that 1166 of the 8966 beverage launches surveyed in 2007 fell into the 'no additives/preservatives' category.

This is a significant increase on 2006 when only 579 of the 6904 product launches sampled carried such claims.
The substantial increase reflects rising consumer hostility towards preservatives and additives and follows the publication of studies suggesting that they may have adverse health effects.

Receiving particularly extensive media coverage was a study conducted by the University of Southampton linking certain colorants and the preservative sodium benzoate with hyperactivity in children.

The fall in the number of new products packed with preservatives and additives on supermarket shelves was complemented by an increase in organic and natural products.

These product categories both climbed several places in the claims chart with organic and natural launches increasing to 12 percent of the launches surveyed in 2007 from 8 percent in the previous year.

Traditional health concerns slip down list
Consumers are embracing drinks made without synthetic ingredients pushing traditional nutritional concerns from the foreground.

Products advertising low sugar levels, low calories or fortification with vitamins and minerals all slipped in the top 10 product claims list.

Low sugar and fortification were the top two claims in 2006 but were edged from the top spots in 2007 coming in second and fourth respectively.

Meanwhile ethical claims made their debut on the list as 230 products boasting their moral credentials hit the shelves in 2007, according to Mintel.

Manufacturers are waking up to the ethical shopping trend which has hit the headlines with the fair trade concept that attempts to redress the power balance between growers, manufacturers and retailers