When San Francisco filed suit against major food manufacturers like Coca-Cola, Kellogg, and Kraft Heinz over ultra-processed foods, it turned a long-simmering health debate into a boardroom issue. For large food brands, this isn’t just another regulatory headline — it’s a direct challenge to how portfolios are built, how labels are written, and how future supply chains will run.
We recently spoke with Kimberlie Le, food entrepreneur and CEO of Prime Roots, who has spent the last five years reinventing the deli counter with clean-label, non-ultra-processed alternatives. Le argues that the real business risk isn’t a single lawsuit, but the permanent erosion of consumer trust in a world where 77% of shoppers say they’re actively seeking healthier options.
From her “home kitchen” litmus test for defining ultra-processed foods to why she believes the industry is approaching a “tobacco moment,” Le lays out what this shift means for executive teams, R&D leaders, and plant operations alike. She also shares why technologies like fermentation, simpler ingredient decks, and startup partnerships may be the fastest path to cleaner portfolios — and more resilient, future-proof brands.
Q. From your perspective, what is the real business risk around ultra-processed foods (UPFs) today?
Kimberlie Le: The real risk isn’t just a passing trend — it’s the permanent erosion of consumer trust. We are in a health revolution where 77% of consumers are actively seeking healthier options.
For legacy brands, the choice is simple: innovate or be cancelled. If you aren’t actively developing or partnering to clean up your portfolio, you risk becoming a brand that a new generation of shoppers simply refuses to touch or will be ditching for the newer better for you option that comes out that meets that taste bar.
This is not about just maintaining market share but it’s a huge opportunity to fill gaps and grow as consumer preferences and tastes are changing rapidly.
Q. How do you define an “ultra-processed” food in a way that a boardroom — not just a regulator — can act on?
KL: I use the “home kitchen” litmus test: If a consumer cannot find the ingredients or replicate the basic process in their own home kitchen, it is ultra-processed. The use of chemical isolates, petroleum-based additives, and artificial stabilizers like nitrates (a Class 1 carcinogen) to achieve shelf-life are most certainly ultra-processed.
Over the last 10-20 years, there has been a large revolution of green manufacturing and utilization of more sustainable and better-for-you processes in food manufacturing that can replace nearly every ingredient and processing process that would be deemed “ultra-processed.”
Q. Where do you see labels and marketing claims most misleading when it comes to UPFs?
KL: The most egregious examples are products marketed toward children. Historically, we saw similar tactics used with nicotine — highly addictive products marketed as “lifestyle choices.” We are approaching a “tobacco moment” for the food industry. Science has already proven the link between nitrates in processed meats and cancer; I believe nitrates should be labeled as clearly as cigarettes, so people understand the risks, rather than being obscured by “natural” claims that still utilize celery-derived nitrates.
We are seeing real harm and cases being brought forth to highlight the harm that has been caused by the marketing challenges (like the city of San Francisco filing lawsuit against many large food companies).
Q. If you’re leading R&D at a major food company, how should this shift influence your product roadmap?
KL: I’d advocate for starting by cleaning up your “hero” products first and then working on line extensions (but that are not “greenwashed” or feel like a compromise to consumers). We want loyal consumers to turn the package around and feel relieved that the ingredients are becoming simpler.
However, the distinction is key: we aren’t moving away from all processing — we are moving away from ultra-processing.
Q. You’ve focused on reinventing the deli counter. What did it take to make a clean-label, non-UPF deli meat alternative work?
KL: It took five years of R&D to pass the “meat-eater test.” In blind tastings, over 50% of meat-eaters chose Prime Roots over conventional deli meat. We refused to use soy isolates or nitrates, choosing whole food fungi proteins made via fermentation instead. The result is a product with zero cholesterol and no carcinogens and the taste and texture that meat eaters crave.
Recently, we’ve partnered with Physicians Against Red Meat — thousands of doctors to support our efforts to advocate for our products and create a large movement around the better-for-you transformation in the deli category (one of the last categories to do so).
Q. For plant and operations leaders, what are the practical implications of moving away from UPF formulations?
KL: There is a large opportunity for supply chain resilience. UPFs often have bloated ingredient lists. By moving to functional, whole-food bases there is an opportunity to simplify supply chains and re-imagine products from the ground up with newer technologies and ingredients that have higher versatility and function even. For many high-risk categories like processed meat, technologies like plant-based proteins offer a less risky supply chain as well.
Q. If you were sitting with the executive team of a legacy food manufacturer, what 2-3 actions would you urge them to take now?
KL:
- Innovate through partnership: Don’t try to build a clean-label culture from scratch; it’s too slow. Partner with startups that have “better-for-you” in their DNA. Use their agility to skip the legacy learning curve.
- Ditch petroleum/chemicals: Transition away from synthetic additives as these are what consumers are skeptical about mostly. Invest in natural tech — like fermentation — to create texture and flavor naturally. Look into new ingredients and technology/processing innovation.
- Adopt transparency as part of product and marketing: Don’t wait for the regulations to force your hand. Start innovating and testing and learning and shifting your portfolios towards less processed/better-for-you. Take consumers along for the ride and iterate with them — transparency is the only way to avoid the “cancel” wave and build long-term equity.
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