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Businesses label products as 'zero-additive' to cater to consumers, but it's more of a commercial gimmick

A paper criticizing 'zero-additive' soy sauce has brought the concept of 'zero-additive' back into the spotlight. Besides soy sauce, many yogurt brands are also wearing the 'zero-additive' coat. Are you willing to pay for 'zero-additive'?

-01- Yogurt Wearing the 'Zero-Additive' Coat

The concept of 'zero-additive' is rampant in the food industry, and many yogurt brands have also put on the 'zero-additive' coat.

A reporter from China Business News visited a Walmart supermarket in Xicheng District, Beijing, and found that many yogurt brands on the display shelves were labeled with 'zero-additive' signs.

The reporter noticed that Kasi Yogurt has been emphasizing the concept of 'zero-additive', with a large 'zero' on its outer packaging, followed by the characters for 'additive'. What does its so-called 'zero-additive' mean? The back packaging states: 'Zero-additive' means the content of food additives is 0 grams. Junlebao Jianchun Yogurt also labels '0 added sucrose' and has an advertising slogan: 'Simplicity starts from zero'.

In addition to products clearly labeled 'zero-additive', some yogurt brands have adopted a minimalist style, indirectly indicating that their products are 'zero-additive'. For example, Jane Joy yogurt's outer packaging states 'Raw milk, sugar, lactic acid bacteria, nothing else'; Herun Dairy yogurt also labels '0 sucrose' and '0 fat', or directly names it 'Pure Yogurt', with a minimalist design; Lechun yogurt labels '100% milk, minimal ingredients'; Bright Rushi yogurt labels 'Pure, as is'; Mengniu Guanyirou labels 'Simple Yogurt'.

When asked how to understand Jane Joy's 'nothing else', a relevant person in charge told the reporter that Jane Joy yogurt's ingredients only contain raw milk, white sugar, and lactic acid bacteria (except for Jane Joy Original High-Protein Yogurt and Jane Joy's sub-brand Father's Love Formula), with no other ingredients.

-02- Behind the 'Zero-Additive' Promotion is Homogeneous Competition

Why are major yogurt brands making a fuss about 'zero-additive'?

Previously, when the reporter visited the infant formula market, many formula brands were promoting that their products contain DHA, ARA, folic acid, and other nutrients as a sign of high quality. Why do formula companies make a fuss about 'additives', while yogurt companies do the opposite?

Jane Joy told the reporter that 'nothing else' is both a product differentiation selling point extracted by Jane Joy and a commitment to its brand values. Apart from the ingredients listed on the label, Jane Joy yogurt has no other additives.

Song Liang, a dairy industry analyst, told the reporter that yogurt companies are making a big deal about 'zero-additive' because, on one hand, consumers still remember the 'gelatin incident' and believe that 'zero-additive' is good and are willing to pay a premium; on the other hand, the yogurt industry in China is characterized by homogeneous competition, with product differentiation shrinking, so businesses can only 'start' from these concepts to win consumer favor.

'The difference between yogurt and formula is that formula adds nutrients, while yogurt adds additives aimed at improving taste and color. The fundamental difference behind this is that formula has already been formulated, with many elements added according to specified proportions and combinations, while yogurt has not yet been formulated,' Song Liang said.

A consumer surnamed Wang, who was buying yogurt at Walmart, told the reporter, 'These zero-additive yogurts make me feel healthier, and even if they are more expensive, it's worth it. After all, eating too many food additives is bad for your health.'

-03- 'Additive' vs. 'Zero-Additive': Which is Right?

Is there a relevant standard for the 'zero-additive' that yogurt companies pursue? Is 'zero-additive' really good?

Liu Junli, deputy director of the Regional Economic Development Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Management Science, told the reporter that it is difficult for yogurt products to achieve 'zero-additive'. For example, the sugar added to products is itself an industrial product, which contains additives; and it is hard to say whether the added strains contain other substances. In fact, only naturally fermented yogurt can be considered truly 'zero-additive', but natural fermentation takes a long time, and industrially produced foods generally cannot achieve 'zero-additive'.

So, is it necessarily good not to add food additives? In this regard, Zhong Kai, director of the Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center, told the reporter that adding a small amount of food additives is not harmful to the human body. Whether additives are present or not cannot be a criterion for consumers to choose food.

In fact, in most cases, foods that claim 'zero-additive', 'does not contain', or 'non-XXX' are less worth buying than those without such labels. These 'claims' give products an extra premium, but from a nutritional perspective, they are not very meaningful.

Li Yaming, a staff member of the Traceability Professional Committee of the China Food and Drug Enterprise Quality and Safety Promotion Association, also told the reporter that companies emphasize 'zero-additive' mainly to create a marketing gimmick. In fact, the fewer food additives in yogurt is not necessarily better; appropriate food additives are not harmful to the human body.

It is reported that as early as July last year, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the 'Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Food Labeling (Draft for Comments)'. The document stipulates that for substances not contained or not used in food, food labels shall not emphasize 'not added', 'zero-additive', 'does not contain', or similar wording.

Zhu Yi, associate professor at the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering at China Agricultural University, told the reporter that the document issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation last year clearly stated that the wording 'zero-additive' cannot be marked on food, believing that businesses label 'zero-additive' to cater to consumers, which is more of a commercial gimmick.

It can be seen that not labeling 'zero-additive' is likely to be the future trend, but since the final draft has not yet been released, it is not currently a violation for food companies to label 'zero-additive'.

Source: China Business Network, Author: Zhou Ziyi