What does 'clean' really mean?

“Clean” is one of those terms that has become increasingly difficult to define as it takes on many different meanings – from ingredient simplicity [i.e fewer ingredients], to purity and transparency, or even clarity on what’s inside the product without having to decode the back-of-pack.

And perhaps that is where the latest innovation is beginning to land. Rather than using “clean” as a vague overarching claim, brands are starting to communicate cleanliness through simplicity – fewer ingredients, clearer labels, stripped-back formulations and propositions that are deliberately easy to understand.

So, just what does clean mean to brands through the lens of simplicity?

Take Jacked Granny with its self-proclaimed “simplest protein bar ever” as it uses a deliberately stripped-back ingredient architecture to challenge the long, technically complex ingredient lists commonly attached to protein bars.

Its PB&J Tin is built around just four ingredients: peanut flour, egg whites, maple syrup and raspberries, while the chocolate variation switches the fruit element for cocoa. Despite the simplicity, the nutritional profile still delivers what consumers would expect from a functional protein snack: 16g of protein and 180kcals, alongside 20g of carbs and just 2g of fat.

But the simplicity story extends beyond formulation. Rather than wrapping each bar in traditional flexible plastic packaging, Jacked Granny packages the product inside a pull-tab tin. On the surface, it creates an unconventional visual identity within protein bars, but functionally the hermetic seal also helps address preservation from the outside. That means the brand can lean less heavily on preservatives within the formulation itself.

It is an interesting reminder that a cleaner proposition doesn't necessarily have to begin and end with ingredients. That, in fact, packaging technology can equally become part of the clean-label architecture.

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