Food: Naturalness as the New Sweet Spot: How Consumers Redefine Food & Beverage Choices in 2025
- InsightTrendsWorld
- Aug 19
- 5 min read
Why it is the topic trending: Naturalness as a Core Connector
Shift in priorities: While taste and health remain the top two purchase drivers, naturalness has emerged as the key connector between multiple consumer needs — from health and trust to authenticity and sugar reduction.
Price fatigue: After losing relevance last year, price has not rebounded — staying stable but no longer climbing. Consumers are not abandoning price sensitivity but are increasingly prioritizing other values when making processed food and beverage (F&B) decisions.
Decline in secondary factors: Organic, environmental sustainability, and regionality are losing traction as standalone purchase criteria. However, consumers still view them as important when tied to naturalness.
Cultural shift in trust: Shoppers are overwhelmed by certifications, labels, and claims, and no longer trust them blindly. They lean on natural ingredients as intuitive, recognizable markers of authenticity.
Overview: The Rise of Naturalness as a Common Thread
The 2025 consumer landscape shows a clear recalibration of values. Taste and health continue to dominate, but naturalness is now increasingly decisive, functioning as the bridge across categories such as health, sustainability, organic, and even regionality. Südzucker’s survey shows consumers prefer clear, authentic, and easy-to-understand information, seeking reassurance in familiar, natural ingredients. In a crowded and claim-heavy marketplace, naturalness provides clarity and cuts through confusion, giving brands a powerful tool to build trust and differentiation.
Detailed findings: Anchoring Purchase Criteria
Taste and health lead: These remain top purchase drivers, with growing importance year-over-year.
Price stable but weaker: No major rebound in 2025; its role as a key motivator continues to stagnate.
Naturalness gains momentum: Rising fast in countries like Poland and Italy, sometimes replacing price as the third most important factor.
Declining relevance of secondary criteria: Organic, environmental sustainability, and regionality are losing independent weight — consumers see them as subsets of naturalness.
Information overload: Shoppers find packaging claims, certifications, and labels confusing. They want quick, authentic, trustworthy information that reassures rather than overwhelms.
Trust through natural ingredients: Familiar, recognizable components such as natural sweeteners or plant-based ingredients communicate authenticity more effectively than logos or claims.
Key success factors of product discovery: Winning with Naturalness
Simplicity in communication: Clear, transparent labeling and straightforward claims beat cluttered packaging.
Authentic ingredient storytelling: Emphasizing natural ingredients (e.g., sugar from beet, plant-based sweeteners) conveys trustworthiness.
Health alignment: Naturalness is most powerful when tied to sugar-reduction and wellness narratives.
Global but localized: Regional nuances matter — in some markets (Poland, Italy), naturalness outranks price.
Integration over isolation: Naturalness amplifies sustainability, organic, and regionality but is most effective when presented as part of a holistic narrative.
Key Takeaway: Naturalness Is the Core Purchase Connector
Naturalness has evolved from a nice-to-have to the central thread uniting consumers’ food and beverage choices. It links health, taste, sustainability, and authenticity, while also helping brands cut through claim fatigue. Products that emphasize naturalness will resonate strongly across categories, positioning brands as trustworthy and consumer-centric.
Main Trend: “Naturalness as the New Currency of Trust”
Naturalness has become the critical filter through which consumers evaluate processed F&B purchases. It reassures them about health, safety, and authenticity while simplifying complex information into something instantly understandable.
Description of the trend: Naturalness as the Core Link
The “Naturalness” trend is the growing consumer preference for products that feature recognizable, minimally processed, and transparent ingredients. It is not just a health marker, but also a proxy for sustainability, authenticity, and trust. In a noisy market, naturalness is the common denominator that bridges multiple needs.
Key Characteristics of the Core trend: Naturalness as Anchor
Familiar = trustworthy: Ingredients that are known and recognizable create consumer confidence.
Simplification of complexity: Naturalness cuts through overwhelming packaging claims.
Health by association: Natural = healthy in the minds of consumers, especially in sugar-reduction.
Cross-category relevance: Applies equally to sweeteners, snacks, beverages, and processed foods.
Global-local dynamic: Relative importance varies by market but the principle is universal.
Market and Cultural Signals Supporting the Trend: Sweet Shifts
Label fatigue: Certifications and eco-labels no longer resonate on their own.
Legislation & reformulation: Pressure to reduce sugar and artificial additives is pushing natural alternatives forward.
Trust crisis: Consumers skeptical of claims demand ingredients they know.
Inflation trade-offs: Price sensitivity persists but isn’t regaining dominance.
Holistic consumer mindset: Health, taste, and sustainability increasingly perceived through the lens of naturalness.
What is consumer motivation: The Drive for Clarity & Authenticity
Desire for transparency: Clear, understandable ingredients feel safer.
Health-conscious shift: Naturalness is tied to better-for-you eating.
Taste assurance: Consumers equate natural ingredients with “better taste.”
Authenticity: Shoppers want brands they feel are honest and relatable.
What is motivation beyond the trend: Broader Identity & Trust
Self-validation: Choosing natural products aligns with a consumer’s identity as health-conscious and responsible.
Belonging: Reflecting shared cultural values around wellness and authenticity.
Cognitive ease: Reducing decision stress by simplifying choice through “natural = safe.”
Future orientation: Feeling part of a sustainable, health-positive movement.
Descriptions of consumers: The Natural Seeker
Consumer Summary: The Natural Seeker values authenticity, clarity, and health. They distrust overly processed products and gravitate toward recognizable, natural ingredients. While they remain price-aware, they are willing to pay a little more if naturalness reassures them of quality.
Detailed Profile:
Who are they? Health-conscious shoppers influenced by wellness and authenticity.
Age: Primarily Millennials and Gen Z, though older consumers also resonate with the “familiar = safe” logic.
Gender: Both; women slightly more inclined toward natural health positioning.
Income: Mid-income and above; price-sensitive but willing to invest in naturalness.
Lifestyle: Health-oriented, environmentally aware, digitally informed, and increasingly skeptical of traditional marketing claims.
How the Trend Is Changing Consumer Behavior: Simplicity and Trust
Shift away from certifications: Less reliance on logos and more on direct ingredient narratives.
Preference for simple labels: “Made with natural sugar” resonates more than a long claim.
Sugar-reduction via naturalness: Demand for natural sweetening solutions in healthier indulgences.
Trade-offs: Consumers accept higher price points if naturalness is evident.
Regional shifts: Markets like Italy and Poland show naturalness nearly replacing price in decision-making.
Implications of Trend Across the Ecosystem: Strategic Opportunities
For Consumers: Clearer, more authentic choices that align with health and identity.
For Brands & CPGs: Reformulate to emphasize naturalness, simplify labeling, and integrate it into storytelling.
For Retailers: Curate assortments around natural credentials; highlight ingredient transparency in-store and online.
Strategic Forecast: Naturalness in 2025 and Beyond
Health-driven reformulation: More sugar-reduced, naturally sweetened solutions.
Ingredient-led marketing: Packaging that prioritizes ingredient transparency.
Global variation: Some markets will see naturalness overtake price; others will integrate it alongside taste and health.
Trust-building strategies: Natural ingredients as the foundation of brand trust.
Expansion into indulgence: Not just in health products, but also in sweets and treats where “natural” is the premium marker.
Areas of innovation: Sweetening the Future
Natural Sweeteners: Expansion of plant-based and minimally processed alternatives.
Transparent Labeling: Clearer ingredient stories on packaging.
Hybrid Health Indulgence: Products that combine pleasure (taste) with natural health cues.
Localized Natural Stories: Regional sourcing tied to natural narratives.
Tech-enabled Clarity: QR codes/apps providing ingredient transparency without label clutter.
Summary of Trends
Core Consumer Trend: The Natural Seeker — prioritizing authenticity, health, and clarity.
Core Social Trend: Label Fatigue — moving away from certifications toward direct trust in ingredients.
Core Strategy: Naturalness as Anchor — building health and sustainability through ingredient-led narratives.
Core Industry Trend: Sugar-Reduction via Naturalness — reformulation for taste, health, and trust.
Core Consumer Motivation: Clarity & Trust — seeking simplicity and authenticity in every choice.
Final Thought: “Naturalness is the New Language of Trust”
In 2025, naturalness is not just a trend — it is the central code through which consumers evaluate processed food and beverage products. It simplifies complexity, builds authenticity, and connects health, taste, and sustainability. For brands and retailers, embracing naturalness is no longer optional — it is the foundation for credibility, differentiation, and long-term consumer trust.
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