Beneo survey finds Latin American consumers want clean labels, low-glycemic products

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A new survey conducted in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico found cleaner and natural ingredients with proven health benefits play a key role in consumers' purchasing decisions in Latin America. In fact, three in five consumers screen nutritional information and ingredients list before buying new food or drinks to make conscious food choices.

The survey, “BENEO Nutrition & Health survey LATAM 2020,” commissioned by Beneo (Parsippany, NJ) and conducted by Haystack, found one in three consumers pay high attention to a healthy diet and almost four in five consider health aspects when buying food. 

“The research results show that consumers in Latin America are looking for food and drink products that support a healthier lifestyle in the long run,” said Juliana Hirata, sales manager South and Central America for Beneo, in a press release. “Clean and simple labels, natural and trustworthy ingredients are powerful purchasing motivators here. As the pandemic has underlined the importance of managing diets for better health, consumers want to make consciously healthier choices now, more than ever, so we expect this trend to increase even further.”

These healthy trends are also reflected by consumers awareness of blood-sugar management. Three in four believe food and beverage products with a low glycemic are healthier and more than one in three respondents said improved blood sugar levels have become more important over the last year. 

Beyond blood sugar, Latin American consumers are increasingly looking for foods and drinks that are free from artificial ingredients and minimally processed to improve their diet. Three in four say foods with natural ingredients and/or cleaner label are healthier (and safer), and a large majority (80%) wants to know more about the ingredients in their products.