Organic, gluten-free and natural labeled foods are competing for popularity and customers’ attention on the shelves at bakeries and grocery stores around the world, but how are these terms different and what is important about each in terms of marketing?

Organic

Organic produce and baking ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified organisms or ionizing radiation. The animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products are not given antibiotics or growth hormones, and farmers use natural fertilizers to feed soil and plants.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has established an organic certification program that requires all organic foods to meet strict government standards. These standards regulate how such foods are grown, handled and processed.

With organic products, branding proves important to building a following from your customers. Using bold branding helps manufacturers’ products to stand out among others on the shelf, such as interesting logos, bold colors, superlatives (high in fiber, for example) and so on.

In this day and age, social media proves popular among numerous demographics, including adults. Thus, a strong presence on social media is also an effective way to market organic products and to build up a following for different products.

As consumers get more conscientious of the foods they are eating, organic foods continue to gain popularity, and the way manufacturers advertise their brand will prove important as they compete against other brands.

Gluten-Free

Gluten is a protein found naturally in wheat, rye and barley and is sometimes added to other foods as a thickening agent. Products labeled gluten-free must therefore not contain any of those grains and must not have a detectable amount of gluten.

Though going gluten-free is essential for people with celiac disease, as the protein can damage the lining of the small intestines and impair the body’s ability to absorb nutrients, many people choose to go gluten-free for a variety of other reasons.

According to market analysis by Packaged Facts, improving the quality and selection of gluten-free foods available in mainstream channels will help sales in the category grow nearly 1.5 times through 2019, with total sales expected to reach nearly $2.34 billion in 2019.

Due to this extreme growth, bakers will need to pay attention to their branding and selling propositions to stand out among their competitors, and offer consumers a broader and differentiated range of gluten-free products that go above and beyond in other health benefits.

As the consumer-base for gluten-free products may be reaching critical mass, manufacturers need to consider price sensitivity and work to offer products with values beyond gluten-free.

Natural

Though the FDA has not developed a definition for use of the term natural, the agency has not objected to the use of the term if the food does not contain added color, artificial flavors or synthetic substances. In other words, natural foods have undergone a minimum of processing or treatment with preservatives.

Though natural and organic are similar, they are not interchangeable terms, as only foods grown and processed according to USDA organic standards can be labeled as such. Terms such as “all natural,” “free-range,” or “hormone-free” all relate to natural foods and not organic foods. Though a report in 2013 showed products branded with “natural” outsold “organic” packaged items, organic food sales are on the rise, a fact to keep in mind while competing in this market. With the rise of organic and gluten-free food popularity, marketing natural foods properly and effectively ensures these foods do not get pushed to the back burner.

Using appropriate labels and stressing the importance of natural ingredients will help cater to your customers’ preferences and tastes and appeal to the types of products that they’re looking for as part of their health-conscious diet.