Clean indulgence: the new consumer habit among Europeans is making an impact on supermarket shelves

For the European market, consuming animal protein has also become a statement of principle. A survey carried out by the European Parliament reveals a scenario in which 74% of consumers believe their purchasing choices can affect the way animals are treated. At the same time, a survey conducted by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) shows that 65% of consumers believe ultra-processed foods are harmful to health and will cause health problems in the future.

This movement is called “clean indulgence” by the market — the ability to enjoy a tasty product without industrial additives, along with awareness of pasture management practices that speak to the quality of life of species, the animal finishing system and the quality of the product that reaches the shelves.

The EIT survey underscores, however, that despite these concerns, only about 56% of consumers say they actively try to avoid buying processed foods, often being drawn by convenience, lower prices and taste. Information about the degree of processing also appears to be a source of uncertainty among consumers. “While six in ten consumers (61%) identified energy drinks as ultra-processed, only 34% and 22%, respectively, correctly identified vegan cheese and chocolate bars as ultra-processed,” the study says.

Understanding the new patterns of demand

Concern about animal welfare in Europe is not a new phenomenon, but its nature has changed. According to the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), the issue has been on the public agenda for nearly 50 years, since the first legislation in 1974. However, what was once strictly regulatory, driven by Brussels guidelines, has become a market demand.

The modern consumer is no longer satisfied with mere compliance with the law. The demand now is for active proof of impact, as shown by data from the Special Eurobarometer, which indicates that 94% of Europeans consider protecting animal welfare very important and 59% would be willing to pay more for products from production systems that are friendly to this cause. In addition, 20% of citizens already rank “high animal welfare standards” among the three most crucial characteristics for a food to be considered sustainable. Improving the transport conditions of live animals is one of the main areas of concern highlighted in European assessments, alongside strong public pressure to abolish cage use, as seen in the European Citizens’ Initiative “End the Cage Age,” which gathered nearly 1.4 million signatures.

“Tech food,” the trap of ultra-processed foods and the concept of sustainability

The concept of sustainability in the European context also encompasses aspects related to human health, food quality and even transparency in communicating product attributes. For modern Europeans, “sustainability” cannot be synonymous with “chemical complexity”: 60% of Europeans consider ultra-processed foods bad for the environment, linking them to a lack of naturalness, the presence of chemicals and industrial production.

It is in this “trap” that plant-based foods have ended up falling, as evidenced by the stagnation — or even contraction — of certain alternative protein categories. Approximately 54% of European consumers avoid plant-based meat substitutes because they perceive them as ultra-processed. At the same time, 67% of the European population associates ultra-processed foods with the development of chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, according to a report by Green Queen magazine. In other words, in trying to find a sustainable “alternative,” the industry delivered products with long ingredient lists, protein isolates and artificial emulsifiers — exactly the opposite of what consumers want.

Rejection of UPFs (the English acronym for ultra-processed foods), as defined by the NOVA classification (the system that divides foods according to the type and degree of industrial processing), and recent scientific literature show that consumers are learning to read labels and, more importantly, to distrust what they cannot recognize as food in their home kitchen.

The numbers corroborate this scenario: 67% of consumers say they dislike it when foods contain unrecognizable ingredients, and 40% say they do not trust authorities to regulate ultra-processed foods sufficiently to ensure they are safe in the long term.

With a clear conscience: the search for alignment between pleasure and personal values

Like American consumers, European consumer behavior has also changed, broadening the criteria that influence purchasing decisions, with the difference that the public in Europe tends to be even more informed about climate impacts. 

Under the concept of clean indulgence, the search is not limited to attributes tied to the dining experience, even though taste, combined with convenience and price, remain the main drivers of daily choices. Factors such as animal welfare, sustainability, transparency and the degree of processing now influence perceptions of food quality, generating a clear rejection of products with unrecognizable ingredients and industrial chemical formulations. In this context, products that allow consumers to connect the pleasure of eating with production practices aligned with their ethical and environmental expectations are increasingly valued.

Read also: New U.S. dietary guidelines reinforce meat’s central role in the diet