PEOPLE PREFER PRODUCTS WITH FEWER INGREDIENTS

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

Consumers associate fewer ingredients with products that feel more natural, healthier, and less processed, making ingredient simplicity a strong messaging lever for food and beverage brands. Across 19 experiments, framing a product as having "few ingredients" increased choice rates by 21.6% for an identical granola bar and generated up to 44.2% higher click-through rates in Meta ads. Brands should prominently highlight low ingredient counts on packaging, ads, and product pages, especially for health-focused products where differentiation is difficult. The tactic is less effective for products bought for indulgence, flavor variety, or nutritional complexity, so brands should match the message to the purchase motivation.