With 97% brand awareness in October 2021, nearly all teenagers have already seen or heard of Nutri-Score. The study confirms that teenagers act as both influencers and purchasers of food products, making them a key target audience for nutritional prevention initiatives. Their perception, knowledge, and use of the logo are also very positive, which is encouraging for the logo’s rollout in institutional and commercial food service settings, as outlined in the National Nutrition and Health Program 4 (2019–2023).

Nutri-Score is very well perceived and understood among young people

To measure awareness, perception, and the impact of Nutri-Score on purchasing behavior among adolescents, Santé publique France conducted a survey in October 2021 among 1,201 young people aged 11 to 17 living in metropolitan France. Administered online, the questionnaire partially replicated questions from surveys of adults and included specific questions designed, in particular, to measure their influence on their parents’ purchasing decisions.

Among the key findings, we observe that:

• 97% of the adolescents surveyed reported having already seen or heard of Nutri-Score;

• Two-thirds of the adolescents spontaneously indicated that Nutri-Score provided information on the product’s composition and nutritional quality;

• 96% of adolescents stated that the logo was easy to spot on packaging, and 91% considered it easy to understand.

Teens as both shoppers and influencers for their parents

Teenagers’ perception of Nutri-Score and the impact it can have on their purchasing behavior are particularly important, as they can also influence their parents’ choices. In fact, nearly all teenagers (94%) ask their parents or someone else at least occasionally to buy a specific food or beverage.

The study’s results also show that:

• 7 out of 10 teens had already purchased a product with the Nutri-Score;

• 54% of teens who had already bought a product with the Nutri-Score were prompted to buy that product because of the logo on the packaging;

• 47% of adolescents familiar with the logo stated that it had influenced them to choose a product over one without the logo, and an equal proportion said it had led them to switch to a product with a better Nutri-Score;

• Nutri-Score is likely to influence their parents’ decision to buy or not buy a requested product: in particular, 61% indicated that their parents had already agreed to buy a product requested by their child because it had a Nutri-Score of A or B;

• When it comes to assessing a product’s nutritional quality, adolescents primarily rely on the product’s nutritional information (spontaneously cited by 15%) and the use of an assessment tool (cited by 13%), particularly the Nutri-Score (cited by 12%).

Among the many criteria likely to influence purchasing decisions, nutritional quality remains secondary for adolescents, with only 17% of this population indicating that it was an important factor. It therefore seems essential to improve their ability to take this information into account by making it more accessible.