The impact of the Nutri-Score nutrition label on perceived healthiness and purchase intentions

Nutri-Score and Nutrition Facts Panel through the Eyes of the Consumer: Correct Healthfulness Estimations Depend on Transparent Labels, Fixation Duration, and Product Equivocality

“…The presence of the Nutri-Score interacted significantly with the Nutri-Score grade. In contrast with previous research that demonstrated a higher impact of red-colored FOP labels [ 28 , 36 ], De Temmerman et al [ 22 ] found that the impact of the Nutri-Score presence on perceived healthfulness was only present in products with a Nutri-Score grade A (dark green) or B (light green). For products with Nutri-Score C (yellow), D (orange), and E (red), no significant interaction effects with the presence of the Nutri-Score were found [ 22 ].…”

“…In contrast with previous research that demonstrated a higher impact of red-colored FOP labels [ 28 , 36 ], De Temmerman et al [ 22 ] found that the impact of the Nutri-Score presence on perceived healthfulness was only present in products with a Nutri-Score grade A (dark green) or B (light green). For products with Nutri-Score C (yellow), D (orange), and E (red), no significant interaction effects with the presence of the Nutri-Score were found [ 22 ]. In sum, there seems to be conflicting evidence concerning the impact of green, orange, and red colors in FOP labels on healthfulness perceptions of products.…”

“…It is a summary indicator that provides an overall evaluation of the nutritional quality of packaged food products, grading them on a scale of five letters/colors, ranging from A (dark green, which stands for most healthy) to E (red, which stands for least healthy). A large body of research has shown that the Nutri-Score label appeared to be the most effective FOP label, outperforming other FOPLs, such as Multiple Traffic Lights (MTL), Health Star Rating (HSR), and Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA), in helping consumers to correctly identify the healthfulness of food products [ 11 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. In terms of the impact of FOPLs on purchase intentions, a study using a randomized controlled trial in a virtual web-based supermarket showed that of all FOPLs (GDA, MTL, Nutri-Score, Green Tick), the Nutri-Score label was the most effective in guiding consumers toward healthier food choices.…”

“…In general, studies on the impact of MTL labels found that red lights tend to outweigh the green lights when consumers are estimating the healthfulness of virtue (i.e., healthy) products [ 28 ]. In a recent study, De Temmerman et al [ 22 ] also looked into the impact of traffic lights colors indirectly by considering the impact of the different Nutri-Score grades (A-B-C-D-E) on the perceived healthfulness of food products. The presence of the Nutri-Score interacted significantly with the Nutri-Score grade.…”

The Nutri-Score nutrition label

“…The results of scientific studies performed on large populations (several thousand or tens of thousands of subjects) [34][35][36] and consumer surveys carried out in France [37], Spain [38], Belgium [39] and Germany [40] consistently demonstrate the superiority of Nutri-Score compared to the other nutrition labels tested, in terms of perception, ease of identification and speed of interpretation. All studies show that the Nutri-Score is perceived favourably by consumers and appears as the preferred format compared to other labels, particularly in populations with the lowest levels of nutritional knowledge.…”