And, after this time, the company has carried out an analysis, published in the July issue of Consumer magazine, in which it confirms its positive impact on the composition of a healthier shopping basket. For this, the behavior of sales of almost 2,000 products from various categories of packaged food, available in the Eroski and Caprabo commercial network, has been analyzed for two consecutive years, a total of 1,348 establishments.
Nutri-score labeling and healthier shopping
And the main results obtained are the following:
- The arrival of Nutri-Score has not had a negative influence in sales of fresh products that do not carry said labeling —such as fruit, vegetables or fish—, although there is a change in the sales mix, so that the products with the best classification according to Nutri-Score (letters A and B) have had a better performance in sales than the lowest rated (letters D and E). The letter C presents an almost flat evolution profile.
- The behavior of undoubtedly healthy food categories, like frozen vegetables, has experienced a sales increase of several points above the average for packaged food. The same is true for frozen fish and seafood families that have grown more than average.
- In nutritionally more varied and complex categories of packaged food, in which there is a choice between the different Nutri-Score classification letters, there is a tendency for sales to shift a few percentage points towards better solutions: the category of breakfast cereals —with 55 references of all the letters of Nutri-Score— does not undergo significant changes in the evolution of sales as a whole. However, sales of breakfast cereals with Nutri-Score A, B and C classification reflect a notable growth in their sales, of up to 15%, at the expense of products D and E, which decreased. The data reflects a similar migration in two other categories mainly related to breakfast, such as biscuits and pastries, with a shift in sales of products rated E and D to C.
- In the range of refreshing drinks a shift in sales is observed between those with the worst Nutri-Score classification —D and E, for being sugary— towards those with the best possible letter in this category, B, for being sweetened. In the family of ice creams, in which there are no products above classification C, it is precisely this level that collects the sales that were previously made of products with a lower rating, D and E. In frozen dishes, a displacement of the sales towards the letters of B and C, although it is slightly lower.
- In the category of olive oil the behavior of sales is maintained, which, according to the director of Health and Sustainability of Eroski, Alejandro Martínez Berriochoa, is due to the fact that consumers “have not stopped choosing olive oil as a relevant, healthy and habitual product in their shopping basket. It seems that they have understood that the letter C of the Nutri-Score classification, the best that a cooking fat or dressing can obtain – above the D and E that butter, margarine butters … receive -, should not assume that its use is postponed. ”.
- Regarding the price, the results of the analysis are significant: offers and promotions have a high influence on sales, conditioning the composition of a healthy basket even more strongly than the Nutri-Score. When food is not promoted and is chosen under equal promotional conditions, the role of the Nutri-Score in choosing the most appropriate is clearer.
Qualification
The influence that Nutri-Score labeling can have on a healthier purchase
Description
Eroski has published a study on the Nutri-Score labeling, which it introduced more than two years ago in its own brand products, a system that classifies products based on their nutritional quality through a simple five-letter scale and colors.
Author
Gastronomy Journal