Fast food going natural
It's a start...
When I’m traveling I pay more attention to things that would normally go unnoticed. Like this Starbucks’ bag from an afternoon snack I had in New York.
I’m not sure how natural a marshmallow square can be, but apparently mine was made without artificial ingredients. With the promise of “more to come” I wonder if organic is next on this coffee giant’s agenda.
A couple of days later I ate at Pret a Manger, a fast food chain that started in London, UK and has expanded to the States. Their policy? To “create handmade natural food avoiding the obscure chemical, additives and preservatives common to so much of the ‘prepared’ and ‘fast’ food on the market today.” The New York outlet posts signs that they buy local, seasonal ingredients —organic when they can — and fly in nothing but basil come winter.
Closer to home, Kraft is launching a Back to Nature line of additive-free nuts and trail mix snacks.
Pret, a private company, launched in 1986. Industry giants, like Starbucks and Kraft, are following suit more than a decade later. This isn’t meant as criticism, but rather to note that small grassroots food movements can take a long time to shift into the mainstream. But when they do, it’s a sign the quest for natural, local and unadulterated ingredients isn’t just a fad.
If you run a restaurant or produce a packaged food line, have you noticed a shift in consumer demands? What request do you hear most often? What are your challenges in meeting these requests?
If you’re a consumer, do you make an effort to support places that use natural ingredients? Are you willing to pay more for it?
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I just love that all natural is becoming more common. I really feel best when I eat mostly whole foods that have minimal processing and I wish it were easier for all of us.
I’ve tried the Back to Nature snacks (in the interest of full disclosure, I’ve been working with Kraft on the launch) and they really represent a new way for big food companies to think. Such a a positive change in the long run, I hope.
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We call it “Clean Labeling” in the industry. In general it means a movement towards more natural processing technologies. But it also sometimes means ingredient suppliers find strategies for producing the same sort of stuff, without adding off-putting words on the ingredient deck. Looking at some of the Back to Nature products (the macaroni and cheese in particular), I’m not sure the general public would call it natural if they knew the process of making some of the ingredients. I remember the products from when I was in the US, haven’t seen them here yet.
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The only problem is the labeling “all-natural” frequently meaning nothing, it makes us all have to be very savvy consumers indeed.
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[...] thought this was such an interesting blog post from Cuisine Canada Scene, that I thought it might also be of interest to all of [...]
I like the fact that companies are potentially taking a more natural approach to things (although it’s too bad we even got this far, before we thought about making some changes).
Like Amy and Katerina, I am just a bit leery about what is actually “natural” and what are companies allowed to say, so they can safely label their products natural, whether they actually are or not.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that I am not hopeful, I am just not going to buy or use something because the front of the package says “all-natural” – because that is the latest fad and the companies know it will sell the product.
Anyways I suppose it could be a great step in the right direction!
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Good question Dawn the question this site is asking is …if places such as Starbuck’s is “going more natural”, are we willing to pay more for this…duh?? Wouldn’t MORE natural mean less expensive ingredients would be used, since they aren’t pre-processed by someone else, thus not adding to the costs???
The whole point of “eating Local” was to cut down on the need to ship food long distances and reduce our “Carbon footprint”, since this should reduce the costs, why should we be expecting to pay MORE??
“Lala land thinking” is what gives these huge corporations justification to push their hands deeper into our pockets by preying on our conscience using targeted marketing, do you honestly think they care?? It is still all about MONEY, and I doubt if pure food is actually their goal.
I owned a small bakery that was invited to supply the baked goods for Starbucks on Vancouver Island. My baking was all Organic and we made specialty products for those with Allergies.
Their pricing requirements made it impossible to compete.
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Natural is a tricky word. I don’t expect fast foods to go natural. Are they just saying natural just because they want to attract more customers so they really want to change the way people eat. It could be natural sugar but sometimes people still consume them in industrial sizes.
Although at the same time I think it a good idea for other companies offering healthier alternative. Some fast foods are offering healthier alternatives but I’m not paying more for it. For example, they’re using iceberg lettuce on their salad and a bottled dressing. Very tricky and a lot of people can be fooled. It’s not even worth buying it.
For me, it’s eating the less processed foods you could ever find and you can find them at the farmer’s market. And replacing not-so-healthy items with healthier products.
The word natural is still open to many interpretations. It depends on the motive of the company as well.
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