In an era when people are consumed with better-for-you goods, food and beverage companies are launching new campaigns that highlight the produce from which their products are derived.
According to market research results from Mintel International, a quarter of the food and beverages launched in 2008 claimed to be "natural," making it the year's most prevalent claim.
For the first time in more than half a century, food titan Heinz has changed its iconic ketchup label, switching out the gherkin below the name for a plump, vine-ripened tomato. The goal? To remind consumers that Heinz tomatoes go into each bottle of ketchup. Tropicana has repackaged its cartons to only include the word "juice" in small type at the bottom. The OJ box now reads, "100 percent orange: Pure and natural." Frito-Lay's current TV spots underscore the fact that Lay's chips come from potatoes.
From Welch's 100-percent grape juice from concord grapes campaign to Pizza Hut's The Natural pizza, this trend has certainly come to my attention. Have you taken notice as well? Do you think it's a good thing that more companies are emphasizing healthfulness in their edible products, or is this movement simply a gimmicky positioning tactic?
Issa
I think it's kind of gimmicky...I mean, c'mon, everyone knows that ketchup comes from tomatoes. Putting the tomato on the label is just a ploy to make people think it's somehow healthier than eating actual tomatoes, which is definitely not the case.
1natural means nothing. its a ploy to get people that think organic is good but dont wanna buy the expensive stuff that natural is just as good.
2it's stupid for them to tout heinz ketchup as natural when it has a TON of High Fructose Corn Syrup... how natural is that!?
3That's kind of stating the obvious, isn't it? Ketchup comes from tomatoes, potato chips come from potatoes (WHOA!). This move is a far cry from just a few years ago when they tried to put out purple and green colored ketchup!
4natural is actually different from organic and in some ways more important. . .a lot of organic products contain things not sprayed with pesticides BUT also contain additives and preservatives. Natural + organic is ideal, but organic is not magically healthier than natural.
I agree with LaurenG22. . .you'd be surprised how little tomatoes there are in actual ketchup, and how few potatoes go into potato chips. They have to add the natural label because people know they AREN'T being natural. The ad is effective for stupid people, but hopefully they are changing more than pictures and are changing what they put into their products!!
5I find it a bit obvious using pictures and words to explain the product... id be shocked if my 'orange juice' came from milk.. but I suppose considering how many idiots there are in the world.. better safe than sorry?
6Wait! You mean that ketchup ISN'T made from tiny pickles!?! I wish they would have put the tomato on the label before to save myself from this shocking realization.
lol, it makes all the difference in the world. With the amount of HFCS that go into each bottle they may as well put a picture of an ear of corn on the bottle.
then again, that still wouldn't be right.
7well i'm one to say that i like the change and i welcome it. i can't say that it's really impacting my purchase decisions,but i think that it's a step in the right direction as far as advertising/marketing goes. we're all living in an era where it's really important to be health conscious and aware and it seems like this kind of directs more towards doing the right thing.
8i agree with you ilanac. granted, we can't necessarily get organic and sustainable products from "big food" companies yet (and can they really come from big food?), but it is a step inthe right direction. a small step, but a step nonetheless.
9There are laws about labeling food "organic". They need to do the same for "natural".
10Post New Comment
Please share your opinion with our community, but make sure it is on topic and follows our Community Rules. We moderate comments and prohibit personal attacks, threats, spam, lewd images, or the promotion of your personal website.