Clean Label, Clear Benefits
In a world where consumers are reading labels more carefully than ever, the demand for clean label food solutions continues to rise. People want to know what they’re eating — and they want to feel good about it. But while shoppers seek transparency, food producers face a more complex challenge: delivering cleaner labels without sacrificing functionality, texture, or taste.
Clean label is more than a trend — it’s a shift in the way food needs to be developed. That’s why the Emsland Group’s approach goes beyond supplying clean label ingredients. Through hands-on application support, recipe development, and in-house testing at our Innovation Center, we help our customers create successful, consumer-friendly products — faster and more effectively.
What Does “Clean Label” Mean Today?
“Clean label” typically refers to products made with ingredients that are perceived as natural, familiar, and minimally processed. This includes removing or replacing synthetic additives, E-numbers, and modified starches with recognizable alternatives — without compromising product quality.
The market is growing quickly. Consumers are choosing foods that feature simple, understandable ingredient lists. But switching to clean label solutions isn’t always straightforward. Functional ingredients like stabilizers or thickeners are often critical to product performance, and removing or replacing them requires expertise.
Emsland Group’s Clean Label Solutions
To meet this challenge, the Emsland Group offers the Empure® product line — a clean label range made from potato and pea-based raw materials. Empure® products provide natural texture and taste, and are specifically designed to replace products with E-numbers, such as modified starches and potato flakes, in various applications. Additional clean label ingredients available from the Emsland Group include proteins, fibers and granules. This versatility provides the flexibility to combine ingredients to achieve the desired characteristics in the end product.
The Emsland Group’s clean label products are not chemically modified and are suitable for vegan, gluten-free, and allergen-conscious applications. They provide excellent functionality for various food applications in a wide range of segments and are made from renewable raw materials sourced from regional agriculture.
From Concept to Creation – At the Innovation Center in Emlichheim
Supplying an ingredient is only part of the solution. At the Emsland Group’s headquarters in Emlichheim, Germany, a state-of-the-art Innovation Center is dedicated to supporting our partners through every step of product development. Application experts work directly with food manufacturers to test clean label ingredients in their specific product formats.
Whether it’s improving texture in a plant-based cheese or achieving the right viscosity in a soup, we don’t just make recommendations — we test, adapt, and develop the final recipe alongside the customer.
Clean Label Applications in Action
Our clean label solutions are regularly applied in real customer products. Below are two examples of concepts developed at our Innovation Center where Empure® ingredients are applied in combination with other ingredients to create a finished end product with an ingredients list that is considered “clean label.”
A Collaborative Approach With Lasting Value
The value of this approach goes far beyond the lab. By working together in a close development process, we help food producers speed up time-to-market, reduce formulation risk and strengthen brand trust with clean, consumer-friendly labels to stay ahead in a fast-changing market environment.
Clean Label, Co-Created
At Emsland Group, we don’t just supply clean label ingredients—we co-create the future of food with our customers. Backed by the Empure® product line and an expert team, we’re here to help you meet market demands, exceed consumer expectations, and grow your business through clean label innovation.
Discover more about our solutions.
