As US Secretary of Health Robert Kennedy pushes to ban additives and reduce ultra-processed ingredients, America’s food industry faces a defining question: Can we make food healthier without making it unaffordable?
Kennedy’s proposal has good intentions. Cleaner products, simpler ingredients, and nutritional benefit everyone, but they come with costs. Manufacturers face reformulation challenges, new compliance standards, and higher ingredient prices. Meanwhile, consumers are already struggling with record inflation, leaving little room to pay more for their groceries.
At Vypr, our latest ebook, Can Americans Afford to Be Healthy?, explores this growing tension between health ambition and household reality. The results reveal a clear appetite for healthier food. But there’s a warning for retailers and suppliers who equate ‘better for you’ with ‘premium.’ Consumers want change, but not at the expense of accessibility.
Health-conscious but cost-constrained
Our data shows 68 per cent of Americans are paying more attention to their health than they were a year ago. Yet 52 per cent still say price dictates what ends up in their cart. That contrast captures the new reality of US food shopping. Health may motivate purchase intent, but affordability still drives action.
Three in four (74 per cent) consumers say they know what a healthy diet looks like. But almost half admit they cannot sustain one due to cost and convenience. The intention is there, but the accessibility is not.
As one shopper told us, “I’m more conscious about what I eat now, small changes feel like they matter more than they used to.” Small changes are where the opportunity lies. For brands, that means helping consumers take those steps without asking them to pay more for doing the right thing.
How much will people really pay for ‘health’?
We tested this through a simple example, bread. We showed consumers two loaves, one standard and one marketed as having four ingredients. The ‘clean-label’ version only commanded a $0.14 premium, about 4 per cent more than the unlabeled loaf.
That is a razor-thin margin, but when scaled across the US bread market, even a 10 per cent shift toward simpler, cleaner products could deliver $340 million in additional retail value. Small shifts in behavior, driven by trust and clarity, can produce outsized commercial gains.
In other words, Americans will pay more for authenticity and simplicity, but only a little. The idea that ‘healthier’ must mean ‘luxury’ is a dead end. To succeed in this new environment, brands need to balance innovation with inclusivity, focusing on value and transparency rather than premium positioning.
Trust now defines health
Our findings also show that 62 per cent of consumers equate health with recognizable ingredients. While 69 per cent say on-pack claims influence them. Yet many of those same shoppers told us they “trust the back of the pack more than the front.”
That tells us something vital: Health is no longer just a product attribute; it is a trust signal. The brands that will thrive under Kennedy’s new regulations will be those that communicate clearly, verify their claims, and design for simplicity, not hype.
Minimalist packaging, short ingredient lists, and tangible benefits such as “no additives” or “contains real fruit” now carry more credibility than vague promises about wellness. In this new landscape, clarity is the most valuable marketing currency a brand can have.
Affordable health is the real growth frontier
As additive bans move closer to reality, the winners will not be those who sell ‘healthier’ products at a higher price. They will be those who make better food feel affordable.
Health, taste, and value no longer exist in isolation. They are part of one decision process, one that happens every time a family stands in front of a grocery shelf. If the industry can bridge the gap between aspiration and access, everyone wins: Consumers, retailers, and policymakers alike.
