SPECIAL REPORT: Clean Label Supplement Trends in America and Europe

29 Mar 2016 --- “Clean Label” is bang on trend these days. But what does it mean when it comes to supplements? With no distinct restrictive definition, a space has been created where each dietary supplement provider can freely put their own twist on this term. 

According to Senior Marketing Manager for Capsugel's Americas Region, Missy Lowery, the terms “natural” and “clean label” have been tossed around interchangeably for some time. Generally, these terms are similar in meaning to the consumer and define purity in ingredients. “That is pretty amorphous and confusing,” she told FoodIngredientsFirst.

“At Capsugel, we vouch for the specific facts that the capsules are free of gluten, sugar, allergens, artificial colorants, starch, and preservatives,” she claims, “Currently, there is an evolving “parting of the ways” on the definition of natural versus clean label.”

Lowery maintains that the health and nutrition industry and its regulatory bodies are sorting things out to designate clearer definitions to differentiate between the two terms. Lowery states that the clean label has grown from an up-and-coming trend to a movement: “The movement in America as a whole, has been characterized by two significant waves of increasing demand: non-GMO-certified supplements and vegetarian supplements,” she says. 

Catherine Lehmann, Capsugel's Senior Marketing Manager for EMEA told FoodIngredientFirst that two key drivers have propelled the clean label food supplements trend in Europe, in particular: “Firstly, consumers have become increasingly concerned about the content of their foods and paying closer attention to where their food comes from in terms of its safety and quality,” Lehmann explains, “The millennial generation focuses on a greater transparency regarding reassurance that the companies they buy from are trusted in terms of ingredient sourcing and sustainability.”

“The second driver to clean label food supplements Regulatory agencies are requiring changes to food supplement labeling. In 2014, the EU instituted the Food Information for Consumers Regulation (FIC), which requires the industry to provide clearer, more comprehensive labels for food products, including food supplements,” Lehmann states.

The Americas
According to Innova Market Insights, supplement launches tracked with clean label claims have grown at a combined compound annual growth rate of 14 percent from 2009 to 2013 for three key markets of the Americas: the US, Brazil and Mexico. 

More specifically in these markets, the surges in the number of supplements that carry one or more clean label claims is as follows: 
• Brazil – Up 125 percent, from 16 percent in 2010 to 36 percent in 2014.
• Mexico – Up 110 percent, from 10 percent in 2010 to 21 percent in 2014.
• United States – Up 28 percent, from 46 percent in 2010 to 59 percent in 2014.

Lowery also maintains that the Non-GMO Project’s emergence as a major force in North America served to catapult sales for non-GMO products, including supplements. “Then and now, there are no national laws for mandatory GMO labeling in the United States,” she says. 

Capsugel reports that sales for Non-GMO Project-verified products, including dietary supplements, reached $3 billion in 2012 (a 108 percent increase since 2011); by 2014, sales well surpassed $7 billion. 

The demand for vegetarian supplements also picked up steam in the last few years to remain a key driver of the clean label movement, this was evident as purchases of 38 percent of supplement users were reported in 2013, compared to 35 percent in 2011. As a result, the vegetarian claim appears on 35 percent of clean label supplements in the United States. 

European Impact
“Regulatory agencies are requiring changes to food supplement labeling,” says Lehmann. “In 2014, the EU instituted the Food Information for Consumers Regulation (FIC), which requires the industry to provide clearer, more comprehensive labels for food products, including food supplements.” As a result, the food supplement industry quickly responded to meet these consumer requirements and label regulations.

Capsugel meets clean label needs by maintaining a portfolio of high-quality vegetarian capsules that address preference for “free from” allergens, preservatives, artificial colorants, and gluten. On the positive attribute side, their vegetarian capsule portfolio also features non-GMO, Kosher and Halal certifications and Vegetarian Society certification. 

Lehmann believes there are two overarching themes that help define clean label preference: “The ingredients that consumers do not want to find in a product; this includes claims such as “free-from” preservatives, allergens, gluten and all of the positive attributes that consumers do want to find on the product label including “vegetarian,” “vegan,” “natural,” and “organic,” she states. 

Monitoring consumer demand 
Capsugel claim to have the world’s broadest and largest portfolio of vegetarian capsules for food supplements. Even though Capsugel do not directly market to consumers, they believe that monitoring consumer trends is critical to adapting our offering for the fast-changing marketplace. 

“On the one hand, we pay close attention to the feedback of our customers that produce and sell food 
supplements. Additionally, we conduct targeted market research to understand consumer perceptions and preference regarding dosage form,” says Lehmann, 

For example, in October 2015, Capsugel announced that that they developed a technology that makes vegetarian, acid-resistant DRcaps hard capsules suitable for liquid-fill applications. As a result, customers are able to bring the benefits of DRcaps capsules – including resistance to stomach acid and taste/odor-masking – to liquid-based food supplements.

Lehmann adds: “Additionally, in March 2015, we invested more than $25 million to increase production capacity and deliver further quality enhancements for our vegetarian capsules. This investment enabled a combination of new production lines and technology upgrades at four of our global facilities, with a specific focus on ramping up production of our premium Vcaps Plus vegetarian capsules.”

Commanding a price premium
Innova Market Insights note that in the US, clean label supplements command a 15 percent price premium on average over supplements launched without any clean label claim. 

In Europe, the price premium is 26 percent, in comparison. The average price points are $49.80 per 100 clean label supplements compared to $43.20 per 100 non-clean label supplements.

Despite economic challenges in many European markets, consumers of the millennial generation are willing to spend more for clean label food supplements. In 2015, the Soil Association published research indicating that consumers younger than 34-year-olds are the most willing to spend more on organic products versus other age demographics. The price premium of new food supplement products introduced in Europe is 26 percent higher for clean label products versus non-clean label products, according to a 2014 Innova Market Insights report.

by Elizabeth Kenward

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