I’m excited to be kicking off Consumer Brands Association’s second annual National Consumer Transparency Week, a time to elevate the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry’s commitment to empowering consumers to make informed choices about the food, beverage, household and personal care products they use every day.

June is also a special time for me, as it marks my year and a half anniversary as President and CEO of Consumer Brands. During that time, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to our member companies, visit with their teams and tour the facilities that produce America’s favorite brands. Throughout my travels, I witnessed firsthand the industry’s commitment to the consumer through three overarching priorities: safety, transparency and affordability.

Safety is non-negotiable for us. The products you find on grocery store shelves are safe and stringently regulated. Since no one is closer to the consumer than the CPG industry, we’re continuously innovating as consumers’ preferences change. These products reflect what consumers want, and we’re always listening for new ways to meet their needs.

Today, consumers are asking more questions about the ingredients in these products, and they deserve clear, accessible and trustworthy information at their fingertips. For generations, the CPG industry has invested in transparency initiatives. While this is a commitment we make to consumers every day, we created National Consumer Transparency Week as an opportunity to spotlight the tools and resources our industry has developed to help consumers better understand the products they purchase and make informed decisions for themselves and their families.

Walk down the aisle at a grocery store and you’ll see FACTS UP FRONT® (FUF), a voluntary, industry-led initiative that summarizes important nutrition facts in an easily digestible format on the front of food and beverage packaging. If you’re looking for more in-depth information than what can fit on the label, scan the SmartLabel® QR code and do a deeper dive into things like ingredients, allergen information and package recycling instructions. Consumers asked, and we delivered, addressing more recent topics that are top of mind with resources like truthaboutingredients.org and foodprocessingfacts.org.

Importantly, these tools are backed by research. According to recently released data, nine in 10 Americans who check nutrition information report being familiar with FUF. Of those Americans, more than half say they often or always use FUF to guide their purchase decisions.

Furthermore, 2025 research found that 75% of American adults trust the nutritional information on the FUF label. Consumer engagement with SmartLabel has also increased 43% from 2024 to 2025, with consumers scanning SmartLabel QR codes over nine million times last year. SmartLabel is also increasingly accessible – products participating in the transparency program can be found in more than one in five grocery carts across the United States.

Relatedly, recent data tells us that affordability is top of mind for Americans today, and affordability and transparency go hand in hand. Consumers should be able to know what’s in their grocery products and be able to afford them. But the growing patchwork of different state ingredient laws that’s being implemented across the country will just make things worse, creating a 12% increase in grocery costs for the average American household. Adding to this burden, the varying laws also create confusion for consumers and limit access to certain goods.

Americans deserve the same consistent, science-based information and access to these essential products no matter where they live. That’s why Consumer Brands supports federal legislation that establishes a national, uniform standard for ingredient transparency and safety, while also preventing the looming 12% increase in grocery costs.

As we prepare to celebrate to America’s 250^th anniversary, it’s an important reminder that the CPG industry is a part of what makes America, America. As the largest domestic manufacturer by employment, we support one in 10 American jobs and contribute $22.5 trillion dollars to the U.S. GDP. Many of our member companies have been around for 50, 100 and even over 200 years. These are brands that families have trusted for decades and are products that are part of Americans’ everyday routines, traditions and memories.

As we celebrate National Consumer Transparency week, we’re motivated by the responsibility that comes with our history: a responsibility to continue earning consumers’ trust every day by delivering safe, affordable and convenient products, while continuing to provide the clear, accessible information consumers need to make informed choices for themselves and their families.