While many brands will choose to label their GMO ingredients in compliance with the law, others may choose to reformulate their products to be non-GMO. Although reformulation can be a costly challenge, certain types of products and brands may justify the effort in order to expand their customer base, retain brand loyalty, and introduce exciting non-GMO offerings to feed the need for intriguing options. Targeting the emerging market for non-GMO projects, companies introducing new products that are free of GMOs have the potential to reignite interest and re-establish a brand’s position.
What Brands Should Consider Going Non-GMO?
ALL-NATURAL BRANDS
The clearest case for reformulation lies with those brands that take a highly natural position in their branding and marketing. Many of these companies have already gone non-GMO, of course, but for those that have yet to finalize that transition, federal GMO labeling should push them to take the leap. If your audience is concerned about the all-natural qualities of what they eat, in general, a GMO label will likely be a deterrent, and result in declining sales. For brands that place heavy emphasis on clean labels, sustainability, or health, reformulation to remove genetically modified ingredients will be essential. It may be less critical for more conventional brands, whose audiences may not be as concerned about GMOs. For instance, the non-GMO reformulation of Cheerios has brought General Mills positive publicity, but not increased sales.
FEMALE-FOCUSED BRANDS
A Pew survey regarding attitudes about GMO food labeling found that women check for such labels significantly more often than men. Whereas 54 percent of men never or seldom check for the presence of GMOs, 56 percent of women do, including 28 percent who always check. Although we do not yet know how mandatory labeling might influence these tendencies, women’s concern about GMOs in their food purchases directly correlates with their prioritization of health in their food purchases.
As the tendency to scan labels for GMOs becomes habitual among shoppers, brands that primarily target female consumers should weigh the potential gains and losses associated with non-GMO reformulation and GMO labeling.
These findings suggest audience consideration is key in deciding whether to reformulate or address the challenge of relabeling products containing GMO ingredients. Though reformulating current products to eliminate GMOs is one way for brands to adapt to the new regulatory reality, another would be to launch new, non-GMO product line extensions. With the market for non-GMO products exceeding $8.5 billion prior to the passage of labeling legislation, as reported by NPR, there is significant opportunity for brands willing to invest in it.
Non-GMO Snack Ideas
Parker Products is aware that reformulation presents an opportunity to adopt decidedly different inclusions into new non-GMO product lines. To get ideas about on-trend baking and snack concepts, download Parker’s white paper, which offers creative, delightful flavor ideas made with non-GMO ingredients: http://parkerproducts.com/resource-center/