The Decision Analyst research surveyed more than 16,000 people and found 40 percent of respondents would be more likely to buy products "very frequently" or "somewhat frequently" if products bore the “rich in” labels.
"Antioxidants added" labels only appealed to 25 percent of consumers.
"Our findings suggest that more Americans frequently consume products labeled 'rich in' these ingredients, compared to products that have the same ingredients 'added.',” said Diane Brewton, senior vice president of the Market Intelligence Group at Decision Analyst.
“This is likely due to the perception that foods rich in an ingredient are more natural and less processed, compared to foods that have these ingredients added to them during the manufacturing process."
Omega-3s and iron
Similar trends were apparent for omega-3 and iron-fortified products employing similar claims language.
In the case of omega-3 27 percent responded to “rich in” claims and 19 percent to “added” claims.
For iron the figure was 25 per cent and 15 percent respectively.
"Consumer perceptions and beliefs about ingredients contained in their foods, as well as nutritional information on food packaging, are important factors driving their purchase behavior,” said Brewton.
“Understanding consumer knowledge and beliefs is crucial for food marketers, as this helps them effectively highlight healthful, or even 'magic,' product ingredients in messaging and packaging claims."
The research was part of a report called Food Ingredients: What's Hot? Which scrutinized food and beverage consumption, restaurant behavior, health attitudes and lifestyle management.
Antioxidants will be the focus of the upcoming NutraIngredients Antioxidants 2010 Conference in Brussels. Topics ranging from testing to building the science to supporting health claims will be addressed by a range of international experts. For more information and to register, please click here .