Naturalness: proposals to meet public expectations

In their communications, companies are increasingly referring to "naturalness" and promoting new products and services in line with this naturalness. They emphasize that they "naturally" offer healthy (and even beneficial) products, and that their activities and production methods are "based on common sense". They promise "natural" products that "respect your naturalness", services that "enable you to develop your naturalness", made from resources and processes that "preserve nature" in all components of their activity chain (suppliers, production or distribution methods, responsibility, health, environmental and societal impacts...). These claims, which use terms evoking nature, can be emphasized by displaying or creating logos or charters that explicitly allude to nature (images, colors, symbols, etc.).

At the same time, certain audiences are increasingly talking about naturalness, in a wide variety of contexts: purchasing choices, consumer requests (spontaneous requests, but also requests prompted by surveys, focus groups, etc.). At the same time, blogs, articles and even books about naturalness are flourishing. These latter elements are often the work of different "trendsetters", from very different backgrounds (media figures, but also "ordinary people"), who focus on various dimensions: health, food, personal development, leisure...

The spread – as well as the inflation – of naturalness in all areas of the economy coincides with increasingly strong aspirations for a new and better offering, with "obvious" benefits for oneself, others and the planet. Naturalness is also linked to a desire for a "better life" via a rediscovered and fulfilling relationship with one's (own) nature and with (true) nature.

The desire for naturalness on the part of the public and consumers alike shows that naturalness is not just an advertising slogan destined for fleeting notoriety, but can also represent a more lasting movement. This growing demand may reflect new expectations, new demands, even new relationships with consumption or ways of life. Whatever the case, the rise of naturalness in business discourse can only reinforce a movement that is already present in society. Conversely, social demand can only encourage companies to dig deeper into this furrow.