The Covid-19 pandemic enters by force on food labels, and it does so in the form of health claims. The new edition of the “Osservatorio Immagino GS1 Italy” by Nielsen research firm tells about the effects of the pandemic on the world of Italian consumer goods. On the one hand by monitoring the evolution of claims and voluntary information on packaging, and on the other hand by linking products to sales channeled by supermarkets and hypermarkets.
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In its latest survey, Osservatorio Immagino has built two baskets. The first one in the food sector and the other in the non-food sector. In each one Nielsen has collected the products with at least one claim on the label that can be linked to new requirements dictated by the current health emergency. Among these:
- The effectiveness in removing germs and bacteria
- The ability to strengthen the immune system
- The presence of vitamins considered beneficial
Within the food basket, sales of the 950 products identified in the last calendar year increased by +5.3%. On the other hand, the sell-out of the 647 products in the non-food basket grew by +27% compared to the previous year.
Free from most successful claims on Italian food labels
| Claim | Products % | Sales Value % | Sales Trend % (2020-2019) |
| Preservative Free | 6% | 9.7% | -0.8% |
| Palm Oil Free | 3.9% | 6.8% | +1.4% |
| Low Fat | 4% | 5.7% | +0.7% |
| Coloring Free | 2.9% | 3.5% | +1.4% |
| Low Sugar | 2.9% | 2.8% | +5% |
| No Additives | 1.8% | 2.2% | +5.5% |
| Glutamate Free | 0.9% | 1.5% | +8.5% |
| No Added Sugar | 1.6% | 1.4% | +9.8% |
| GMO free | 1.3% | 1.4% | +0.3% |
SUSTAINABILITY ON FOOD LABELS
The theme of sustainability and how it is communicated by companies on the food labels and packaging is of utmost importance. According to the research, 20.9% of the monitored products have at least one claim or certification related to sustainability on the label. Products of this kind can be organized into four clusters:
- Sustainable resource management
- Sustainable agriculture and breeding
- Social responsibility
- Respect for animals
The “green” shopping cart built by Osservatorio Immagino includes over 24 thousand products, which generated more than 9.1 billion euros in sales with a growth of +5.5% in value.