Most consumers would pay more for food products that provide comprehensive nutrition and manufacturing information, reveals a July study by Label Insight, a firm that collects and analyzes food label data.

In its 2016 Transparency ROI Study, Label Insight says 73 percent of 2,021 consumers surveyed would pay a premium for products that offer complete transparency in a variety of areas, including certifications, ingredients lists, nutritional breakdowns, allergens lists, and information on how products are sourced, produced and handled.

Moreover, 37 percent of consumers would pay up to 10 percent more for a product with complete transparency in all areas, while 16 percent of consumers would pay 11 to 25 percent more for products with complete transparency.

“In an age where consumers are more concerned about what’s in the products they use and consume than ever before, brands that provide shoppers with the information they seek through their preferred channels will reap the benefits,” the study says.

Brand loyalty can be counted among the benefits. Nearly 95 percent of consumers said they would be more loyal to a brand that offers complete transparency, while more than half said they’d be loyal to a completely transparent brand for life.

That allegiance could extend to a brand’s other products. More than 80 percent of consumers said they would consider a brand’s whole portfolio of products if they switched to that brand because of transparency.

However, consumers generally do not trust brands to be completely transparent, Label Insight says. Just over half of the survey respondents said they believe it when a brand claims that it is “healthy” or “nutritious.” As a result, 91 percent of consumers said they verify the information themselves by checking the label or searching for product information on third-party sites.

“Because of this, most will go elsewhere to find the information they need, and the brand itself is often left out of the conversation,” the study reads. “Brands have an opportunity to improve trust with consumers by offering complete information about their products.”

One method for increasing transparency is by participating in a digital label service such as SmartLabel, a program through which Label Insight can input data and develop product pages for manufacturers. The program “gives consumers a way to access more detailed product information about a wide range of food, beverage, household, pet care and personal care products.”

“The brands that offer this information voluntarily put themselves in a position to own the content consumers find when they search for their products and ultimately generate a higher level of trust,” the study says.