Ingredion - The secret to fresh

Put your products

first in freshness

Consumers take many attributes of a product into account when evaluating how fresh it is. They get their first clues from where they find a product in the store, and assess it throughout their experience with it. Keep reading to find out what you can do to take the fresh perception of your products to the next level.

PACKAGED FRESH
REFRIGERATED

EXPAND THE BOUNDARIES
OF FRESHNESS

Overall, consumers view products at the perimeter of the store as being fresher and healthier than those in the center aisles—but sometimes not as fresh as ready-to-eat deli items. So your foods and beverages need to step up in freshness to stand apart in the refrigerator case.

Keep it

CLEAN & SIMPLE

A cleaner, simpler label is more expected for refrigerated products than frozen and shelf-stable products found in the center of the store.

A shorter list of familiar ingredients will increase the fresh perception of your product.¹

Consumers see these ingredients as lowering the fresh perception of a product:¹

Artificial sweeteners

High sodium

Preservatives

Artificial colors

I like that I recognize all these ingredients!

Transparency is key. Consumers want to know exactly what’s in your product and how it’s prepared.¹

Because preservatives are less expected in fresher foods, a shorter shelf life is acceptable—even preferable—in refrigerated products.¹

The total package

You can update your packaging—beyond your ingredient list—to send fresh signals to consumers.

Just like the ingredient list, transparency is important in refrigerated packaging. It allows consumers to see your product and judge its freshness.¹

Simple packaging =
simple ingredients.
A clean, uncluttered package design helps to signal that the ingredient list will also be clean and simple.¹

Since consumers expect a shorter shelf life, a “packaged on” and expiration date actually increase fresh perception.¹

Foster fresh feelings

The eating experience hugely affects fresh perception—and can even create an emotional connection to your product.

Consumers perceive products with “homemade” attributes to be fresher and of higher quality—and to act as emotional drivers.²

Here are some ways consumers define “fresh” in refrigerated chicken noodle soup:²

Components in their “natural” form—such as irregularly shaped bites of chicken

Just-right texture: Veggies with some crunch to them, and broth that looks thin but feels full and rich on the palate

According to our research, consumers have emotional connections to refrigerated chicken noodle soup—particularly when they feel it could be homemade. Here’s how they described their feelings:²

Consumers perceive products with “homemade” attributes to be fresher and of higher quality—and to act as emotional drivers.²

According to our research, consumers have emotional connections to refrigerated chicken noodle soup—particularly when they feel it could be homemade. Here’s how they described their feelings:²

Here are some ways consumers define “fresh” in refrigerated chicken noodle soup:²

Components in their “natural” form—such as irregularly shaped bites of chicken.

Just-right texture: Veggies with some crunch to them, and broth that looks thin but feels full and rich on the palate.

Key points

Consumers are already predisposed to view refrigerated products as fresher than those in the center of the store, but there are ways you can amp up the fresh perception of your products even more—while your competition grows stale.

Improve product stability with easy-to-use and cost-effective ingredient solutions.

Formulate with simple ingredients to add the homemade texture consumers crave.

Optimize product quality by selecting the most suitable ingredients for your process.

Fast-track innovation with chef-inspired, on-trend recipe development.

Learn more about the consumer insights, texture capabilities and ingredient solutions that can give your products a fresh advantage.

GET THE INGREDION EDGE

1. In Vivo BVA - Ingredion proprietary research, 2015
2. Ingredion proprietary research conducted in 2016

The INGREDION and INGREDION IDEA LABS marks and logos are trademarks of the Ingredion group of companies. All rights reserved. All contents copyright © 2016.