Nutri-Score: A Logo Now an Integral Part of French People’s Daily Lives

As the market share of brands participating in the Nutri-Score program has continued to grow since 2018, reaching 50% of sales volume1, French consumers are increasingly exposed to it and are thus embracing this new tool more fully: 18% of respondents spontaneously report using Nutri-Score to assess the nutritional quality of products (compared to 1% in April 2018), and nearly 93% consider the logo useful for determining nutritional quality (+4 percentage points compared to 2019).

As a result, 94% of French people support its inclusion on products. A nearly similar proportion (89%) believes that displaying the Nutri-Score on products should be mandatory. Based on the voluntary commitment of manufacturers and retailers, the use of the logo on a brand’s products helps improve that brand’s image for 70% of participants, thereby endorsing transparency toward consumers.

A clear impact on purchasing behavior

In September 2020, 57% of respondents familiar with the Nutri-Score logo reported having changed one or more of their purchasing habits. Thus, Nutri-Score has already influenced the following:

• switching brands for the same product (39%, up 16 percentage points from May 2019),

• choosing a product with a better score over one with a lower score within the same aisle (36%, +12 points),

• limiting the purchase of products with lower scores (34%, +11 points),

• making lasting changes to certain eating habits (35%, +10 points).

Furthermore, as part of the fourth phase of the National Nutrition and Health Program (PNNS), the use of Nutri-Score will be expanded to institutional and commercial food service, giving consumers the opportunity to encounter the logo in various consumption contexts. These measures will thus help further embed Nutri-Score in the French food environment.

“To our knowledge, the data reported in this series of studies are the only ones that allow for tracking changes in awareness and perception of Nutri-Score in France since its launch in October 2017. These new results confirm that the French population is increasingly embracing the logo and supports this initiative. The positive trend in the indicators confirms that Nutri-Score plays a role in French consumers’ purchasing habits. In addition to the role of information campaigns conducted by Santé publique France and the educational efforts of stakeholders, our results indicate that this progress is primarily linked to greater visibility of the logo, particularly on food packaging,” summarizes Anne-Juliette Serry, head of the Food and Physical Activity Unit at Santé publique France.