The USDA’s updated dietary guidelines and reintroduced food pyramid, designed to curb consumption of highly processed and ultra-processed foods (UPFs), discourage the use of artificial flavors, dyes, and preservatives and encourage the intake of “more” real foods, arrives in a market where UPFs such as desserts, ready meals, and sweetened beverages—remain central to the everyday American diet, says leading intelligence and productivity platform, GlobaData.
Shraddha Shelke, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, comments, “While the guidance may prove influential over time, widespread consumer adoption will be challenging as UPFs continue to meet the needs of lower-income households and time-poor consumers.”
GlobalData’s 2025 Q1 consumer survey reveals that four out of ten (43.7%) US consumers are concerned about their intake of UPFs, and over half (58%) pay close attention to the ingredient lists and formulations of the products they buy.* This indicates that whilst US consumers are aware of the health concerns related to UPFs, they continue to buy these products regardless.
UPFs exist because they solve problems for both manufacturers and consumers in terms of providing a long shelf life, low production costs, and consistent quality in taste and texture for manufacturers, while providing consumers with the time saving convenience of ready-to-eat/quick-to-prepare, affordable meals, creating a win-win for both sides.
The convenience and variety of UPFs, combined with shoppers’ busy lifestyles, are driving the growth of UPF product subcategories in the US. According to GlobalData’s Market Analyzers, US prepared meals (meal kits, pizza, ready meals) grew from $33.8 billion in 2020 to $46.9 billion in 2025, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8%. During the same period, carbonated soft drinks registered a CAGR of 5.3% reaching $92.6 billion in the US.
Compared with the previous guidelines, the USDA’s recent announcement signals a shift toward US consumers eating “more” real foods and fewer ultra-processed foods, with the new food pyramid promoting the intake of protein and full-fat dairy, deprioritising grains, and calling for stricter limits on added sugar.
Shraddha adds, “As these guidelines will lead to a greater scrutiny of product ingredients, brands should prioritize “cleaner” reformulation that shoppers will notice first, by simplifying ingredient lists, reducing artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, and added sugars and where possible using more recognizable ‘real’ food ingredients such as kitchen-cupboard staples to deliver cleaner-label packaged foods, that still match consumer expectations on taste, affordability, and convenience.”
