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What’s the best positioning for healthy indulgent products?

For healthy indulgent products, messaging around enjoyment resonates more strongly than “guilt-free”, according to a study by EIT Food.

The qualitative consumer observatory study, compiled by EIT Food and Puratos, offers recommendations on how producers can best develop, position, and create messages for better-for-you, healthier indulgent products for the mainstream market.

The study results show that shoppers still want to satisfy cravings but prefer balance over compromise, and seek out indulgent experiences that feel natural and wholesome.

“Consumers want to make better choices, but they also want pleasure and connection,” said Klaus Grunert, professor of marketing at Aarhus University and lead of the EIT Food Consumer Observatory.

Natural, recognisable and transparent

The authors of the study, ‘Finding harmony: Where health meets indulgence in food’, found that trust among food consumers grows when products highlight natural, recognisable ingredients and make transparent claims. Simultaneously, shoppers favour products that avoid overly scientific or abstract health claims, which often provoke scepticism.

“Healthier indulgence is no longer a niche but a rapidly evolving expectation,” said Sara De Pelsmaeker, group health and wellbeing director at Puratos. “Consumers are clear that they want treats they can feel good about, but trust and taste must come first.”

Interviewing 110 consumer participants across 17 European countries, EIT Food and Puratos’ insights suggest that as consumer demand for healthier options grows, there is an opportunity to position indulgent products that are both delicious and genuinely good for you.

Enjoyment resonates far more strongly than ‘guilt-free’

For indulgent marketers planning their marketing messages, the emphasis is on using positive, inclusive language and narratives that focus on care. Enjoyment resonates far more strongly than “guilt-free” or restrictive messaging.

“It represents a new space where pleasure is increasingly integrated with health aspirations, economic constraints, and environmental and ethical responsibility,” Sonia Riesco Granja, researcher and innovation activator at AZTI, told Ingredients Network.

“Indulgence becomes more strategic: small, high-quality pleasures replace larger, less frequent, and costlier indulgences,” said Riesco Granja.

Re-envisioning product positioning

The existing permissible indulgence trend has seen food brands position their products around “guilt-free” or overly functional health claims. Yet these appear outdated and unappealing.

“Consumers want healthier indulgence but distrust bold, abstract or overly functional health claims,” Durk Bosma, head of thought leadership at Future of Food Institute, told Ingredients Network. “These claims feel artificial and polarising, especially when linked to ultra-processed cues or low-price products,” Bosma added. “Guilt‑free” frames are explicitly described as alienating.

“Positioning around balance, naturalness and trust works because it aligns with what consumers see as credible, familiar and emotionally supportive – rather than moralising or overclaiming,” said Bosma.

Marketing is already incorporating this positioning. Indulgent brands are led by naturalness, building immediate trust and signalling authenticity. They are using whole-food cues, minimal processing, simple ingredient lists and natural sweeteners.

Marketers and manufacturers are also using premium cues, such as visual language, which helps position healthier indulgence as elevated rather than compromised. It also adds credibility, as consumers understand that making something healthier may cost more.

Wellbeing shifts to a fully holistic outlook

Manufacturers will centre their R&D pipelines and product portfolios around purpose, according to the authors, with growing emphasis on holistic health is reshaping expectations of indulgence. “Healthier indulgence” is emerging through novel ingredient approaches, functional fortification, new formats such as gummies delivering bioactive compounds, and new sensory experiences that align with health goals.

Permissible indulgence will continue to shift toward better-for-you product categories, with manufacturers reducing sugar, fat and salt in their formulations. Confectionery and cookies, for instance, are a key area where producers can add a healthier twist while preserving their treat identity.

“A new space is also emerging for emotional indulgence linked to resilience and self-care,” said Riesco Granja. The cultural rise of alcohol-free lifestyles illustrates how brands can simultaneously pitch indulgent experiences that enhance emotional resilience.

Rather than seeking indulgence as a deviation from healthy living, consumers are pursuing indulgence that complements their health goals. “A paradigm shift from ‘guilty pleasures’ to ‘functional pleasures,” said Riesco Granja. Emerging mental wellbeing priorities are also influencing Indulgence, adding another dimension to its evolving definition.

Eating experiences become created, customised, curated

In 2026, expect to see indulgence start to become “a designed moment, not just a product choice”, Riesco Granja said. Digital-driven lifestyles will elevate indulgence into a curated experience where sensory pleasure, convenience and personal identity converge. Artificial intelligence (AI) driven personalisation, convenient meal planning and immersive food experiences indicate how indulgence is becoming increasingly tailored, experiential and reflective of individual identities.

Technology enhances not only functional outcomes such as saving time and enhancing convenience, but also novelty, sensory stimulation and emotional gratification. “Indulgence increasingly extends beyond product attributes to include social and emotional value,” Riesco Granja added.

Pleasure prioritises planetary health

Consumers will also continue to integrate environmental and ethical responsibility into their pursuit of pleasure.

“This ethical reframing expands indulgence to encompass a sense of moral satisfaction,” said Riesco Granja. Shoppers exploring relatively nascent products in niche spaces, such as upcycled goods and alternative proteins, create new territories for indulgence, blending novelty with environmental consciousness.

A rise in sustainability and ethical consciousness reframes indulgence as not just a pleasure but also an act with ethical implications that aligns with personal values.

“Indulgence is also about feeling good about one’s choices and is therefore increasingly associated with ‘low-impact pleasure’,” said Riesco Granja.