Nestle USA is the latest company to jump on the natural bandwagon. The American unit of the Switzerland-based company said on Tuesday that it will remove artificial flavors and colors from its popular chocolate candy bars.
By mid-2015, Butterfinger, Crunch, Baby Ruth and other Nestle bars will no longer have artificial colors, like Red 40 and Yellow 5. Artificial flavors like vanillin will be replaced with natural vanilla flavors. Nestle will add a label that reads “No Artificial Flavors or Colors” to the packaging.
“We know that candy consumers are interested in broader food trends around fewer artificial ingredients,” Doreen Ida, president, Nestlé USA Confections & Snacks, said in a statement. “As we thought about what this means for our candy brands, our first step has been to remove artificial flavors and colors without affecting taste or increasing the price. We’re excited to be the first major U.S. candy manufacturer to make this commitment.”
Nestle said that it did its own research to find that consumers prefer candy that doesn’t have any artificial flavors and colors. The company also cited the Nielsen 2014 Global Health & Wellness Survey, which shows that 60 percent of Americans say that they like buying food with no artificial colors or flavors.
As the Wall Street Journal notes, this is an easier move for Nestle than bigger brands like Hershey or Mars. Nestle USA candy only makes up 5 percent of the market, while Hershey and Mars take up a combined 65 percent.
Of course, Nestle USA is not the first American food company to remove artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. In February 2014, Kraft began removing artificial preservatives from cheese slices.
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