Famous candy company will drop artificial ingredients

Longtime candy consumers may be familiar with the artificial colors and flavors often included on the nutrition sections of candy labels. Nestlé USA, the company behind popular enduring candy bar brands like Butterfinger and Baby Ruth, is making an official pledge to remove artificial flavors and colors from hundreds of brand products, and using a special graphic to indicate that it has done so.

The company announced this new strategy in a press release earlier this month, where it said that the label change should be completed by the end of this year. The change springs from Nielsen survey results that showed a majority of consumers said that the presence of artificial ingredients in food was an important issue. The company will reportedly be the “first major U.S. candy manufacturer” to follow through with this policy.

As depicted in a photo included with the release, the small banner that will be depicted on the more “natural” candies will be a wavy blue image with clear bold white letters in it. Some of the colors that will be removed from these products include Red 40 and Yellow 5, which will be replaced by coloring from the more natural annatto seeds.

NPR featured comments from Leslie Mohr, a Nutrition Health and Wellness manager for Nestlé, who also said that the change reflects customer interest.

“Consumers have been telling us that artificial colors and flavors are becoming a decision factor when they’re making food purchases,” he said. According to the article, another candy company, Hershey, has made its own promise regarding the use of fresher ingredients in its products, although it has yet to provide a timeline for this change

If your business has made similar attempts to improve its products, new custom printed labels let customers know the commitment is serious.