Healthy-eating trend boosts natural brand-story opportunities
Thailand’s TPSO says consumers are turning away from ultra-processed foods, boosting clean-label staples and organic/natural foods—and creating openings for Thai exports
- The global health-conscious trend is leading consumers to reduce and avoid ultra-processed foods, becoming a major trend that is changing the direction of the world food market.
- Foods perceived as highly processed—such as breakfast cereals and plant-based meat—are facing pressure, while natural foods such as rice, fruit and vegetables, and organic products are growing strongly in the opposite direction.
- Major markets for organic and natural staple foods are expected to grow sharply by 2029, showing that consumers are placing greater importance on “clean label” products.
- The trend creates opportunities for Thai food products such as rice and basic processed fruit and vegetables, but operators must adapt by focusing on quality and naturalness to build an advantage.
The Office of Trade Policy and Strategy (TPSO) under Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce is closely monitoring the “world food market” and finds that it is undergoing a significant change—especially in consumption of ultra-processed foods. The issue is no longer confined to health alone, but is increasingly prompting clearer questions around policy, regulation and trade—particularly for “staple foods”, the foods people regularly consume that influence the global structure of consumption.
From a global consumer survey in 2025 by Euromonitor’s Voice of the Consumer, 27% of global consumers are trying to limit processed foods. Among those intentionally changing their consumption behaviour for better health, the share is as high as 49%. This indicates that avoiding processed food is no longer a niche movement, but is becoming a mainstream driver of food choices for a large number of consumers.
Consumer awareness differs by region. Countries in Latin America show high levels of avoidance of processed foods because they have adopted the concept of classifying foods by processing level in state nutrition policy in a concrete manner. In Asia-Pacific, although the share of consumers avoiding processed foods may be lower in proportional terms, the population size still implies hundreds of millions of consumers—significantly affecting the size of the world food market.
Euromonitor also reports that global consumption of ultra-processed foods accounts for 21% of dietary energy consumed per person per day. In high-income regions, the share is much higher—54% in North America, followed by 42% in Australia and 35% in Western Europe. Consumption patterns in these regions reflect links between access to convenience foods, urban lifestyles and fast-paced working life—features common in developed economies.
Although ultra-processed foods are commonly associated with snack foods or fast food, nutrition analysis finds that staple categories—such as bread, pasta, cereals, noodles and processed meats—are the largest global sources of ultra-processed dietary energy. They account for 39% of total energy from ultra-processed foods, higher than snack foods at 36%. Because these staple items are difficult for consumers to avoid, pressure from the movement to avoid ultra-processed foods directly affects these product groups.
TPSO stresses that the impact of the ultra-processed food trend depends not only on technical definitions, but critically on consumer perception. Foods that benefit include rice, which is perceived as a simple, natural basic carbohydrate, as well as basic processed fruit and vegetables—such as frozen or canned products with uncomplicated ingredients—still viewed as healthy.
In contrast, breakfast cereals and plant-based meat may face clear pressure because consumers perceive these products as requiring heavy processing and complex ingredients, conflicting with natural-food principles. Some categories such as bread and pasta/noodles show mixed effects: traditional or simple recipes remain more accepted than ready-to-eat or heavily modified products.
Amid rising pressure on ultra-processed foods from consumers and health-conscious trends, staple-food markets are showing a clear counter-trend of growth in organic and natural segments. Forecasts suggest that by 2029, the value of the organic staple-food market could rise 79%, while natural products could expand 103%. This reflects a structural shift in demand as consumers place greater importance on “clean labels”, functioning like a certificate of trust and a tool for adding value to food products.
Communicating naturalness, ingredient simplicity and avoidance of additives is becoming a marketing tool that carries more weight than explaining complex technical production processes that are difficult for consumers to grasp. This trend not only affects product-development strategies for both large and small food businesses, but also signals new economic opportunities across the food supply chain—from sourcing raw materials and processing to branding—at a time when volume-driven growth in the overall food market is beginning to slow.
Nantapong Chiralerspong, Director-General of TPSO, said the trend presents both opportunities and challenges for Thai food products—especially staple foods where Thailand has strong potential, such as rice and basic processed fruit and vegetables, which align with product categories consumers still trust.
However, policy and regulatory movements in developed countries—now developing definitions and governance approaches for ultra-processed foods—may lead to future labelling measures or trade requirements.
TPSO therefore recommends that Thai businesses accelerate adaptation, reduce dependence on price-only competition, and place greater emphasis on quality, ingredient transparency and communicating a natural-food image.
Thai SMEs can also use their advantages in size and production flexibility to access niche markets that prioritise healthy foods and clean labels—markets that are expected to continue expanding over the long term.
