NATURAL FLAVORS ARE MADE IN A LAB… BUT 70% OF AMERICANS BELIEVE THEY COME FROM NATURE

Healthy snacking company That's it. uses real fruit – not "natural ingredients" – for its plant-based super snacks

LOS ANGELES, April 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite its prominence across the food industry as the fourth most common food ingredient listed on food labels¹, natural flavors remain clouded with mystery to the majority of Americans. In fact, only 30% of Americans correctly indicated that natural flavors are manufactured in labs, according to a 10,000-person survey with real-time marketing research platform Suzy.

The Food and Drug Administration defines natural flavors as a "substance extracted, distilled, or similarly derived from plant or animal matter." However, while derived from natural sources, natural flavors can then be distilled, fermented, or otherwise manipulated in a lab. The result? A popular ingredient that can contain both artificial and synthetic chemicals², while falling under the health halo of "natural." Also concerning: unless the ingredients contain a major food allergen, food manufactures are not required to reveal the original sources of the chemical mixtures of any item that falls under the "natural flavor" umbrella.

"We like to say that natural flavors don't grow on trees… but the general assumption is that they do," said That's it. Founder and CEO Dr. Lior Lewensztain. "We want people to know that there's a big difference between your food coming from nature and your food coming from a food scientist, so we've been relieved to see the conversation around natural flavors becoming more mainstream. This sneaky ingredient has flown under the radar of even the most conscientious consumers for decades, but now is the time to demand greater transparency from food manufactures."

As nutrition experts, registered dietitians often see firsthand the confusion that their patients have around natural flavors. "In a culture where many influencers push a message that anything 'natural' is healthy, it's no wonder that people come to us confused," says Lauren Manaker, MS. RDN, LD, CLEC, CPT. "Thanks to its name, natural flavors is an ingredient that many believe are healthy – but opting for this ingredient may not be any better for you than those that lean on synthetic flavors." Those with food allergies and those following a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle need to exercise additional caution when considering natural flavors, Manaker notes, as food manufactures are not required to disclose if a flavor is derived from an animal source or contains an allergen outside of the top nine food allergens.

As the conversation around natural flavors becomes more mainstream, so too does public awareness around other potentially harmful food ingredients, such as sugar alcohols, artificial flavors and food coloring and dyes. As the conversation continues to evolve, That's it.'s commitment to ingredient simplicity and transparency will not. In fact, the brand's focus on real, whole ingredients has made it the proud manufacturer of the only items in the fruit snack grocery store set free of artificial and natural flavors.

"We make fruit snacks from actual fruit," says Lewensztain. "We invite our competitors to start doing the same."

About That's it.
That's it. makes delicious, convenient, plant-based super snacks from only the purest ingredients, and completely free from the top 12 allergens. Since 2012, it has been innovating the natural foods category in the United States with its portfolio of simple and nutritious snacks made from real, whole foods. All That's it. products transparently contain six real ingredients or less, and absolutely no natural or artificial flavors, sugar alcohols, or artificial colors. Its flagship Fruit Bars, now the #1 fruit bar in America, contain only two ingredients, fruit + fruit. That's it. You can find That's it. nationwide at your local Starbucks, at major retailers such as: Target, Whole Foods, Costco, Sam's Club, 7-Eleven, Walmart, VONS, CVS and Kroger, and online at Amazon, Instacart and www.thatsitfruit.com. Learn more on Instagram and TikTok.

About Suzy Survey:
The That's it. "Natural Flavors" study survey 10,000 U.S. consumers in April 2023. The samples are representative of U.S. consumers and census-weighted across age, gender, ethnicity, and region to accurately reflect attitudes across the broader American consumer population.

Media Contact:
Jackie Alvarez
Senior Director, Global Communications
That's it.
[email protected]

¹ https://www.ewg.org/foodscores/content/natural-vs-artificial-flavors/
² https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29140655/

SOURCE That’s it Nutrition