How transparency is shaping the future of plant-based F&B

Consumers aren’t just reading nutrition labels anymore — they’re becoming more critical of them. In the plant-based space, a long list of hard-to-pronounce ingredients can quickly undermine your brand’s promise of health, sustainability, or simplicity.

More than ever, shoppers want to know what’s in their food and why it’s there. If your label raises more questions than it answers, you risk losing trust, loyalty, and market share.

For F&B businesses, clean labels have shifted from trend to an increasingly common practice.

A growing call for clarity

Clean labels have gained traction as consumers become more informed, health-conscious, and selective. Shoppers want simple and recognizable ingredients. They want to understand what they are eating and how it supports their values and well-being. People want to feel confident that the products they choose are made with purpose not fillers. Products that appear overly processed or rely heavily on synthetic additives are met with increasing skepticism.

This mindset is particularly strong among health-focused shoppers who make up a growing segment of the plant-based market. These consumers often view plant-based alternatives as cleaner or more wholesome than conventional options. But that perception breaks down when the product contains a long list of additives, flavour enhancers, or highly processed ingredients.

In Canada, the demand for transparency is especially strong, driven not only by consumers but also by regulators enforcing it. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) mandates that food labels must be truthful, not misleading, and include proper ingredient names, allergen information, and accurate claims. As scrutiny increases, even unintentional errors or vague phrasing can damage brand reputation and erode consumer confidence.

Clean labels can bridge the gap. They give brands a clear way to demonstrate integrity while reducing the risk of regulatory missteps. But to be effective, this strategy must go beyond surface-level messaging. It needs to be built into the product from the start — with clear decisions about sourcing, formulation, and labelling made well before the package hits the shelf.

Higher prices, higher expectations

Price remains one of the biggest hurdles for the plant-based foods. Despite growth in the category, many products are significantly more expensive than their animal-based counterparts. A 2022 study by Dalhousie University Agrifood Analytics Lab found that plant-based versions of specific meat products were, on average, 38 percent more expensive. In some cases, such as plant-based chicken nugget alternatives, the price gap reached as a high as 104 percent.

In today’s cost-conscious market, that premium is harder to justify, even for consumers who care about sustainability and nutrition.

However, this pricing gap is rooted in structural realities. Plant-based businesses in Canada operate with fewer subsidies, less infrastructure, and higher per-unit production costs compared to conventional animal agriculture, which benefits from decades of scale and established supply chains. Ingredients such as pea protein isolates, coconut oil, and natural binders can be expensive to source and require sophisticated processing methods to mimic meat-like texture and flavour.

That is where ingredient transparency becomes a differentiator. A clean label can signal that a product is worth the price, not just because it’s plant-based. It also shows that the product is thoughtfully made, easy to understand, and backed by real quality. One plant-based milk producer, for example, rebuilt its brand around a simplified ingredient list and a unique process that delivers a creamier texture and higher protein content. By stripping away emulsifiers and gums, they offer a product that feels more wholesome and authentic, and which resonates with customers willing to pay a premium for clarity and performance.

Its success shows that consumers are willing to pay more when they see meaningful value, especially when it’s effectively communicated on the label.