India is leading the way in Asia-Pacific’s in the ‘no additives, no preservatives’ food and drink market, new research from market research firm Mintel showed.
Mintel said new food and drink products in India carrying the ‘no additives, no preservatives’ claims are up from 14 percent in 2008 to 18 percent in 2011.
This year, research showed that India already accounts for 16 percent of the overall food and drink market. In Food alone, products carrying ‘No Additive/Preservatives’ claims have risen from 14 percent to 17 percent of total new food product launches, while in Drink it has increased from 13 percent to 15 percent in just three years.
The second largest market in the region for ‘no additives/preservatives’ claims is Australia with 15 percent market share. The third largest, Thailand, accounted for 13 percent of the market in 2011 and China (12 percent). Other countries in the top five are New Zealand and Taiwan.
Deepa Dsouza, Trend and Innovation Consultant, India at Mintel, said health claims are growing in importance for the Indian consumer – and consumers are now much more aware about the ingredients in the food and drink products they choose and the benefits of choosing healthily.
In India, the primary driver for the increase in these claims in India is the consumer perception of added additives or preservatives in food being considered unsafe and concerns about food safety and long term toxicity of these chemicals on their future health.