Clean labeling – a trend that is here to stay

Naturally healthy: It is becoming increasingly important for modern consumers to eat consciously. The trend is towards explicitly pure, unaltered products, while it is advisable to avoid various additives and ingredients. But how can this special attitude to life be communicated on the packaging? The clean labelling trend provides the answer. The less-is-more principle starts with the design.

What is clean labelling?

Gone are the days when consumers were interested in promises that were as full-bodied as possible. Today, renunciation is a top priority. More and more customers want to find a clear indication on the packaging of what the product does not contain: This deliberate omission usually includes ingredients that are considered unhealthy or otherwise unacceptable. These include colourings and preservatives, artificial flavourings and flavour enhancers, as well as sugar, gluten and hydrogenated fatty acids.

The label clearly bans either entire substance classes or individual substances. Some qualified terms can also be defined more precisely by an asterisk in the small print. For example: without artificial colourings – *but with natural colourings from beetroot or curcumin.

Gen Z wants to know

Generation Z in particular is the most important target group for clean labelling today. It all starts with clean eating, i.e. consciously analysing one’s own diet. This trend can be traced back to the US nutrition expert Tosca Reno, among others. The quintessence is to minimise the list of ingredients – a maximum of five, just as few processing steps and the purest ingredients. More than 80 per cent of our own well-being depends on our diet. Reason enough to want to know exactly what a product has to offer the body.

With clean eating, clean eating is moving from the personal kitchen to the larger scale of supermarkets and shops. It represents a sustainable and health-conscious counter-trend to the seemingly endless supply of industrially produced food.

All-round conscious consumption is the trend

Clean labelling is not just reserved for food packaging. In the cosmetics industry in particular, everything to do with clean beauty is extremely popular with modern consumers. Here too, the aim is to derive special benefits from the product by using ingredients that are as clean and consciously endorsed as possible. Shampoos, creams and make-up are not just intended to temporarily feign beauty or pleasure, but actually help the body to become more beautiful and healthier in the long term thanks to well thought-out ingredients.

At the same time, consumers’ interest does not stop at their own bodies when it comes to clean formulations. It should also be clean in terms of the environment and sustainability. This comprehensive cleanliness is an increasingly decisive factor in branding. It is communicated by an equally clean label. In the finished design, however, this involves much more than the usual labelling à la: “free from …”, “without …” and “free from …”.

The clean label and its multifaceted realisation

In the visual realisation, a purist look goes hand in hand with the pure ingredients. A correspondingly minimalist design captures the spirit of the times and at the same time perfectly communicates the product’s message, which is reduced to the essentials. The result is a straightforward and confidence-inspiring aura.

From the lettering to the message to the imagery, the design is restrained. Everything appears pristine and unaffected to the eye, almost somewhat naked and exposed. This open look carries a clear declaration of the ingredients. Succinct, striking references to pure ingredients or their ecological cultivation and extraction are just as much a part of this as the classic free-from messages. Consumers can see at first glance what they are getting.

Instead of abundance, the brand comes to the fore: the all-round restrained and rather discreet design leaves room for brand centricity. The space that might otherwise have been taken up by a lavish food shot now becomes an open stage for the brand name.

Transparency instead of elaborate food shots

Clean labelling immediately sets itself apart with a clear feature: the otherwise frequently used food shots are only used to a lesser extent here. Rather small, less ostentatious images of the pure ingredients replace elaborate arrangements or serving suggestions. The omission can even go one step further and completely hide food shots. The focus is then on the brand, the declaration and the purity emanating from everything.

Transparency can be understood quite literally in clean labelling: Indeed, transparent packaging is often used to reveal the contents. In this way, the consumer not only learns what they are getting through words, but also through clearly visible facts.

However, transparency must also be understood in a figurative sense, especially in clean labelling design. It is essential that the pure truth is actually behind the clean messages – and not just a dirty marketing trick.

“Free from … ” is not without

The obligation to tell the truth is even a must in this case. Otherwise there is a risk of violating German law (§ 11 LFGB, regulations for protection against deception). Of course, the – increasingly strict – European Health Claims Regulation must also be complied with. If it says “no added value”, it must also contain no added value.

However, the impression must not be created that the non-use of a specific ingredient is a sensation if this ingredient or this super-category would be completely unusual or even prohibited for the product in question anyway. A simple example of this is the packaging for mineral water: advertising the water as emphatically vegan would be superfluous – and not permitted.

However, in addition to the legal aspects, which are basically self-evident, consumer trust takes centre stage. Anyone who feels addressed by the clean labelling trend wants this exact insight into the origin and composition of their food. As soon as the appeal of exaggerated or unjustified promises resonates, every consumer’s trust in the brand dwindles – especially, of course, among a customer group whose particular interest lies in pure transparency.

The role of the Clean Label Project

In parallel with these trends, the Clean Label Project is stepping up its clean labelling initiative by highlighting products that go beyond the usual safety measures, particularly those that are free from heavy metals, pesticides and other harmful additives. The organisation presents certifications and awards, such as the Purity Award, to products that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to purity and safety in order to increase consumer confidence and promote industry-wide transparency.

Certifications and consumer confidence

Specific certifications such as the Natural Wine Certification or the Pesticide Free Certification are aimed at niche markets and are each geared towards specific consumer needs and preferences. These certifications are not simply awards, but tools that brands can use to communicate their commitment to safety and purity directly to their customers.

Conclusion – simply better clean

Clean labelling identifies products with pure ingredients or marks the non-use of various additives. The clean contents are reflected in the minimalist packaging. Provided that the claims in the design are rooted in solid facts, clean labelling offers an enormous opportunity for branding and product marketing. It has become a key driver and therefore a must, especially for consumers of the younger generation. As it is also a globally established lifestyle, the clean labelling trend has a lot of potential for the future: It is here to stay.