26-May-2026
Eye-catching for shoppers: colorful Nutri-Score labels more effective than grey
University of GöttingenPeer-Reviewed Publication
Anyone seeking to purchase healthy products at the supermarket needs clear guidance. Nutritional labelling schemes, such as Nutri-Score labels, are designed to help with that. The Nutri-Score front-of-pack label shows a five-colour system from favourable nutritional composition in green (A) through to unfavourable in red (E). The scheme is optional on products across the EU but has been adopted by companies in several countries, for instance, Germany and the Netherlands. Some supermarkets also print a grey version on the price tag, but the colourful version on the shelf also attracts more attention here. Researchers at Göttingen University – in collaboration with Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, the German Institute of Food Technology and Giessen University – studied consumers’ visual attention on these label formats. Their research showed colourful labelling catches the eye more frequently and for longer than monochrome. Particularly frequent and prolonged glances at the dark green A or the yellow C were usually accompanied by choosing this particular product. The red E, on the other hand, did not have the desired warning effect: even when this unfavourable rating was viewed frequently, the products still ended up in shopping baskets. The study was published in the journal Food Quality and Preference.
- Journal
- Food Quality and Preference