Why Food Manufacturers May Be Missing the Mark on “Healthy” Products

Key takeaways:

• Consumers prioritize nutrition over processing: There’s a 26-point gap between consumers (66%) and industry professionals (40%) in valuing high protein, fiber, and essential nutrients — showing that consumers care more about what’s in the food than how it’s made.
• Industry overemphasizes additives and processing: While both groups value clean labels and minimal processing, industry professionals incorrectly rank the absence of artificial additives as the top healthy food trait — consumers place it third, behind nutritional content and fewer harmful ingredients.
• Strategic opportunity lies in nutritional enhancement: Food manufacturers can gain a competitive edge by adopting a “composition-first” development approach — focusing R&D, sourcing, and innovation on boosting nutritional density rather than refining processing techniques.

The industry at large could be fundamentally misreading what consumers want in their search for “healthy” on food products — creating a strategic opportunity for manufacturers who get it right.

Recent research from Purdue University’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability, in collaboration with the Digital Innovation in Agrifood Systems Lab, highlights a significant disconnect between consumer expectations and industry assumptions about “healthy” food attributes. The findings suggest that while health-driven diets are here to stay, 13% of agrifood professionals admit they’re “not sure how consumers define ‘healthy’ food” — a knowledge gap that could reshape competitive positioning for manufacturers willing to bridge it.

The study compares recent survey responses and perspectives from consumers and industry executives, offering insights into where the food industry is getting it wrong, and more importantly, how to get it right.

What consumers actually want vs. what industry thinks they want

When asked which qualities they expect from foods marketed as “healthy,” consumers and industry professionals revealed significant misalignment across key attributes:

• Nutritional content: While 66% of consumers see being “high in protein, fiber, or essential nutrients” as an important attribute of healthy foods, only 40% of agrifood professionals consider it as such. This 26-percentage-point gap represents the most significant misreading of consumer priorities in the study.

• Processing: Industry professionals ranked “minimally processed” as the third most important healthy food attribute, but consumers ranked it fourth. However, both groups showed meaningful interest in processing levels: 59% of industry professionals and 54% of consumers associated minimal processing with healthy foods.

• Additives: Industry professionals correctly identified consumer concern about additives, but overestimated its priority. Industry professionals ranked “free from artificial additives or preservatives” first, while consumers ranked it third, behind both nutritional content and reduced harmful ingredients.

“Healthy” strategies for food manufacturing leaders

The data reveals that food composition, including nutrients and ingredients, is a top priority for consumers. This suggests food manufacturing leaders should prioritize technologies and initiatives that enhance nutritional profiles rather than focusing primarily on processing methods:

• Consumer validation testing: Conduct research to understand your specific customer base’s nutritional priorities.
• Nutritional profile audit: Map current product lines against the consumer priority hierarchy — low in harmful ingredients first, high in beneficial nutrients second. 
• Nutritional enhancement: Shift R&D focus from processing innovation to nutritional enhancement technologies, fast-tracking projects that increase beneficial nutrient density.
• Supply chain optimization: Source ingredients that deliver the nutritional attributes consumers prioritize most.
• Competitive nutritional analysis: Map competitor products against the consumer priority hierarchy to identify positioning opportunities.

The market opportunity hidden in the perception gap

With 13% of agrifood professionals uncertain about consumer healthy food definitions, companies that accurately understand and respond to actual consumer priorities gain the upper hand.

It may be time for manufacturers to reconsider their product and service positioning, emphasizing the nutritional aspects of ingredients and composition over production systems and processes. This means leading with nutritional benefits, particularly highlighting protein and fiber content; positioning minimal processing as a supporting but not the primary attribute; and emphasizing what’s included and excluded rather than how it’s made. 

Consumer behavior suggests a lasting shift towards health-conscious eating. Focusing on nutritional composition will help businesses capture the growing health-conscious market segment.