CLEAR LABEL AS A TRANSPARENCY MARKETING TOOL: THEORY AND UKRAINIAN PRACTICE

The article is devoted to the study of current practices of marketing activities related to changes in consumer behavior in an informationally distorted and oversaturated environment. In modern conditions, the consumer needs not an increase, but a decrease and simplification of communication to make a decision, as well as confirmation of the veracity of messages against the background of a lack of trust. The purpose of the article is to analyze the practice of using the concept of “clear label”, its features, variations of implementation, in particular, in domestic conditions. The research used methods of comparison, analysis and synthesis, the historical method, and the method of analogies. As a result of the study, it was found that the concept of “clear label” is used within the normative framework of ethical marketing. Two different directions of its use can be distinguished: as a tool of a strategic approach for the formation of stable, long-term relationships with the consumer, and as a tool of manipulative anti-marketing. In the first case, the concept has undergone a transformation from an understanding of the need to simplify communication on the label or packaging to total transparency, when the manufacturer reports data on the supply chain, production technologies, composition, pricing policy and social consequences. Analysis of literary sources showed that there is still no established concept of clear label, and it has no legal meaning, only marketing. Despite the vagueness of interpretations, today there is a practice of implementing this concept in a wide range: from simplifying the composition of products to more complete transparency of business practices of both domestic and foreign enterprises. However, this practice is completely voluntary and is aimed at forming the reputational capital of the brand. The second direction is also widespread, when companies resort to manipulative statements, bypass legal gaps in the legislation, trying to present themselves as “natural”, “traditional”, etc., evoking consumer trust without real grounds for it. The practical value of the article is the specification and visualization of the real practice of using the concept of clear label, which allows a more reasoned and conscious approach to the use of such a marketing tool.