Texas’ Senate Bill 25 will require front-of-pack warnings by 2027 on foods made with any of more than 40 flagged additives, marking a new chapter in how food ingredients are disclosed to consumers. These MAHA food warning labels—backed by the federal Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda—signal a tidal shift in how food is developed, marketed, and perceived in the US.

And the stakes are high: products using common additives like Red Dye No. 3 or potassium bromate could soon bear a black mark declaring they contain substances “not recommended for human consumption” in other countries, even if those ingredients are still technically legal here.

Meanwhile, a new BCG Report confirms that consumer preference is shifting toward foods that are simpler, safer, and better for long-term health. Innovation isn’t just a race to market anymore. Getting there means navigating label risks and protecting consumer trust along the way.

Below are five new product development (NPD) strategies to help your brand stay agile, compliant, and credible in this new landscape.

1. Audit and prioritize at-risk ingredients now

Start by identifying which of your existing or planned products use ingredients on Texas’ restricted list, or any additives flagged internationally. This includes artificial dyes, certain emulsifiers, and preservatives that may not align with MAHA’s emerging standards.

Strategy Tip: 
Use intelligent ingredient data tools to assess which formulations could trigger MAHA food warning labels. Don’t wait for your label designer to raise the flag; flag it yourself in the R&D stage.

2. Build reformulation into your 2025–2027 pipeline 

Reformulating is no longer a defensive move, it’s a proactive strategy. With timelines for innovation already tight, you need to start evaluating alternative ingredients now to avoid last-minute pivots.

Strategy Tip: 
Prioritize reformulation projects by risk and revenue impact. Use digital spec management tools to model ingredient swaps and supplier changes quickly without slowing product development.

3. Avoid MAHA food warning labels with smarter labeling and claims compliance

The phrase “not recommended for human consumption” is a reputational red flag, even if it’s technically a legislative artifact. Brands that ignore the labeling optics risk consumer backlash, regulatory fines, or retailer pushback.

Strategy Tip: 
Centralize your label data and regulatory reviews. Use digital workflows that surface potential compliance risks by region before a single label is printed or copyrighted (which triggers the new rule starting Jan 1, 2027). 

4. Make clean label claims verifiable with a digital data thread

Consumers are already skeptical of vague health claims and marketing buzzwords. In a MAHA-influenced marketplace, the real differentiator isn’t just saying your product is “clean,” it’s being able to prove it with transparent, connected data.

That proof doesn’t live in a single spreadsheet. It lives in a digital data thread; a continuous, collaborative stream of information between brands, suppliers, regulatory teams and packaging partners that travels with every ingredient, spec, and label update.

Strategy Tip: 
Shift from inefficient supplier communication to a networked ecosystem. By inviting suppliers and partners into a unified digital workspace, you can co-manage ingredient specs, documentation, and compliance checkpoints—ensuring that what’s on the label is backed by real, verifiable data at every step.

5. Treat MAHA as a catalyst, not a crisis

Yes, MAHA adds pressure. But it also presents opportunities for differentiation, consumer trust, and long-term category leadership. The brands that adapt now will be the ones shaping the next era of “better-for-you” food.

Strategy Tip:
Align your NPD, regulatory, and procurement teams around a shared MAHA readiness framework. Reformulation never takes place in an R&D silo; ensure that cross-functional teams are working from a single source of truth for formulas, specs, packaging inputs and supplier data.

TraceGains: Your partner for agile innovation

The food system is entering uncharted territory. To thrive, brands must build agility and resilience into their NPD pipelines—not just to stay compliant, but to stay competitive. Here’s how TraceGains helps companies stay ahead of the MAHA curve: 

• Real-Time Regulatory Intelligence 
  Instantly assess how proposed or active legislation like SB 25 affects your ingredients and formulations globally. 

• Smart Specification Management 
  Collaborate across departments and suppliers to update ingredient specs and identify reformulation opportunities early. 

• Ingredient Impact Analysis 
  Flag any inputs that may trigger food warning labels before they enter your formulation pipeline. 

• Label Compliance & Documentation 
  Generate label-ready documentation with built-in safeguards for regional compliance differences. 

• Supplier Transparency at Scale 
  Vet and monitor suppliers across dozens of data points to ensure clean label claims can be verified, and sustained. 

With TraceGains, teams can confidently innovate in a high-risk landscape because speed, safety, and compliance shouldn’t be mutually exclusive. 

MAHA is a wake-up call, not a roadmap

MAHA food warning labels aren’t just a Texas issue. They’re a bellwether for how the US food system is about to transform through legislation, litigation, and consumer pressure. For NPD leaders, the writing is on the wall (or, more accurately, the front of the package). It’s not just what to create—it’s how to innovate responsibly, safely, and strategically under shifting rules and rising expectations. 

This isn’t business as usual. It’s food innovation in an age of uncertainty, calling for a new level of flexibility and creativity.

Discover how to MAHA-proof your NPD strategy with TraceGains’ agile formulation tools, real-time regulatory data, and largest supplier network.