What food makers need is more "delicious"

Every year thousands of new food products are introduced, with loud labels proclaiming their benefits: Gluten-free! No Trans-Fats! Heart-healthy!

Sounds great except that when it comes down to it, consumers only have one question: “Does it taste good?”

For decades, survey after survey has found that taste is the No. 1 factor in buying food. However, many CPGs appear more interested in making sure their products can make certain claims at the expense of taste, writes John Stanton in Food Processing.

“In so many cases we find taste takes second place or worse to other factors. I think the best example is the food industry’s efforts to create healthy food. In our zeal to satisfy so-called public interest groups, we lost sight of what our customers wanted, and we made products that very few customers wanted,” he writes.

Before all other claims are considered, Stanton writes, CPGs should plan their new-product launch with one word in mind: “delicious.”

Read the full story here.