For years, removing an ingredient and highlighting its absence on the packaging was enough to make a product stand out. Today, however, the landscape is changing. Data from the latest edition of GS1 Italy’s Osservatorio Immagino show that while the overall free from market continues to grow, not all claims are performing equally. This is not the end of free from products, but a sign that the absence of an ingredient alone no longer carries the same value in the marketplace.
Key Messages:
- The market no longer rewards every “free from” claim: consumers increasingly value claims that communicate clear and verifiable benefits.
- The decline of “palm oil free” suggests a broader shift: the absence of an ingredient alone is becoming less effective at differentiating products.
- New European rules reinforce a trend already visible in the market: claims must demonstrate value, not simply make declarations.
From “Free From” to Claims That Communicate Real Benefits
The 19th edition of GS1 Italy’s Osservatorio Immagino examines Italian consumer purchasing habits by analysing the claims displayed on the packaging of 151,203 consumer products and matching them with NielsenIQ sales data. The findings are clear: labels continue to influence purchasing decisions, but they create the greatest value when they communicate a clear and meaningful consumer benefit.
In 2025, the free from segment included 22,480 products and generated approximately €12.5 billion in sales, with value sales increasing by 3.2% and volume sales by 1.4%. Behind this overall growth, however, different claims are showing very different market performance.
The strongest performance comes from claims linked to specific consumer needs or clearly identifiable product characteristics. For example, “lactose free” appears on 3,170 products, generates more than €2.4 billion in sales and recorded growth of 7.7% in value and 5.5% in volume. Within the rich in category, products claiming to contain “live cultures” grew by 14.2% in value and 12.7% in volume, while fibre claims increased by 2.6% and 2.7%, respectively.
A similar trend can be seen in claims related to production standards. “Non-GMO” products recorded value growth of 10.3%, while “antibiotic-free” claims increased by 12.4% and “residue-free” claims by 14.3%.
The issue is not whether free from claims are growing or declining. What increasingly matters is their ability to answer clear consumer questions: What need does the product address? What benefit does it provide? What claim can it substantiate?
Palm Oil-Free Claims Lose Momentum
In 2025, “palm oil-free” claims appeared on 2,329 food products, generating approximately €1.5 billion in sales. The segment remains significant, but declined by 2.5% in value sales and 4.1% in volume sales compared with 2024.
The historical trend makes the shift even clearer. After growing by 8.3% in 2023, sales declined by 5.2% in 2024 and a further 2.5% in 2025. Although the rate of decline has slowed, the segment has now recorded two consecutive years of negative growth.
The data do not point to a single explanation. Product assortment, pricing, product availability and company strategies may all have influenced performance. However, the simultaneous decline in both value and volume sales suggests that the “palm oil-free” claim is entering a phase of reduced market relevance after years of serving as a highly visible point of differentiation.
What Does a “Free From” Product Really Communicate?
Removing an ingredient tells only part of a product’s story. It does not necessarily explain what has replaced it, what the product’s overall nutritional profile is, or what the environmental implications of that substitution may be.
For example, a “lactose-free” claim addresses a clear and easily understood consumer need for people who need or choose to avoid lactose. By contrast, a “palm oil-free” claim does not automatically explain which fats have been used instead, where the alternative ingredients come from, or what standards and assurances underpin the supply chain and production process.
This points to a broader issue: a claim based solely on what a product does not contain may say little about its overall value. The market increasingly appears to reward communication that explains not only what a product is free from, but also what it contains, how it is made and what claims can be substantiated. This trend also reflects the ongoing evolution of European rules on environmental claims.
Environmental Claims Are Also Changing
The issue is particularly relevant in light of the European Union’s new rules on environmental claims. Directive (EU) 2024/825, Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition, transposed into Italian law through Legislative Decree No. 30 of 20 February 2026, aims to make green claims clearer and more transparent by limiting the use of generic or unsubstantiated environmental claims.
From 27 September 2026, the new rules will also apply in Italy. For businesses, the message is clear: it will no longer be enough to suggest that a product is “more sustainable” through a generic claim. Any environmental claim will need to be supported by clear, specific and verifiable evidence.
What does this mean in practice for “palm oil-free” claims? The claim will not be automatically prohibited. However, if it is used to suggest that the absence of palm oil makes a product more environmentally sustainable, it may fall within the scope of the new rules. This is where market trends and regulation appear to converge: the future of product claims is not necessarily about saying less, but about substantiating more.
Beyond the Slogan: What Information Really Matters?
The challenge for businesses is to move from highlighting what a product does not contain to explaining what it does. Information on ingredients, nutritional profile, raw material sourcing, production methods, traceability, certifications and measurable environmental performance enables consumers to assess a product as a whole, rather than focusing solely on what has been removed.
The future of food labelling will not be shaped by the contrast between “with” and “free from”, but by the ability to explain what a product contains, where its ingredients come from, how it is made and what assurances it can provide.
For now, “palm oil-free” claims remain on supermarket shelves. But as consumer preferences evolve and new regulations take effect, the conversation has already moved beyond the slogan.
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