
The natural trend has been spreading like wildfire throughout the U.S. and European packaged goods markets. The food and beverage industry has been especially affected, with large companies such as Hershey’s, Nestlé, General Mills and Kellogg’s promising to remove artificial flavors and additives from their products. Alongside this trend, harsh scrutiny has been cast on the use of artificial ingredients and flavors in consumer goods, with one survey reporting that over 82% of US respondents believe that foods with artificial ingredients are less healthy than their all natural counterparts [1].