• USA Today, Wednesday, October 28, 2009 10:42 AM

Bruce Horovitz writes that 2010's most powerful marketing mantra might be "simple is better" as companies move away from trumpeting cheap prices and into touting products that have "fewer parts, additives or ingredients." Consumers not only want to know what's in the products they buy, they also want to know what's not in them.

There has been a 64.7% increase in new products using the words "simple" or "simply" in their product or brand name from 2005 to 2008, according to Datamonitor. And products with simplified labels will be more sought-after in coming months than those using the formerly hot buzzwords "organic" or "natural," says Mintel trends tracker Lynn Dornblaser.

Think Häagen-Dazs' Five ice cream line with all flavors containing only five ingredients. Or Starbucks' revamped menu with fewer ingredients (banana bread, for example, has gone from 15 to 10). Beech-Nut's Let's Grow line of toddler foods proclaims "No Junk" on its labels. And Kraft's Triscuit brand is replacing palm oil with healthier soybean oil while its marketing and labeling spell out the specific whole-grain wheat it uses (soft white winter).

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