Nutri-score label Impact on Purchase Intention in Social Media Advertisements : the Mediating Role of Perceived Nutritional Quality, Perceived Healthiness, and Consumer Attitudes[Impact de l'étiquette Nutri-score sur l'intention d'achat dans les publicités sur les réseaux sociaux : le rôle médiateur de la qualité nutritionnelle perçue, de la perception du caractère sain, et des attitudes des consommateurs]

Purpose: A Front-of-pack nutritional label (FOPNL) is a way to provide simplified nutrition information to consumers. In France and many European countries, the Nutri-score, graded from A (best nutritional composition) to E (worst nutritional composition), has become the official FOPNL. In guiding consumers toward healthier food choices, it proved efficient when placed on food packages. However, little to no research has been conducted on how and if consumers' purchase intention may be influenced by the disclosure of the Nutri-Score in advertisements. The purpose of this study is to examine the use of the label in current practices in food advertising on social media and measure the effects of disclosing the Nutri-score on purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach: Many food product manufacturers voluntarily engaged in using the Nutri-score for some specific brands. We first conduct a content analysis of engaged brands' advertisements on YouTube and Instagram (n=435 posts). Then, we experimentally evaluate (n=163 respondents) the perceived nutritional quality and healthiness, consumers' attitudes and behavioural intention changes in response to disclosed Nutri-scores A vs E vs control on Instagram ads. Findings: The content analysis reveals a significant uptake of the Nutri-score in recent food ads on social media (in 96.6% of cases). Also, favourable Nutri-scores (i.e. Nutri-score A or B) were significantly more likely to be instrumentalised in the ad discourse than were neutral or unfavorable ones (i.e. Nutri-score C or Nutri-scores D or E). The experiment shows that disclosing a Nutri-score A directly increases perceived nutritional quality while a Nutri-score E decreases it. Also, disclosing a Nutri-score E directly decreases perceived healthiness level. In addition, a Nutri-score A improves purchase intention through the serial mediation of (1) perceived nutritional quality and (2) perceived healthiness, attitudes toward the brand, the product, and the advertisement. Conversely, a Nutri-score E lowers purchase intention through the same serial mediation. Research limitations/implications: In the experiment, we employed a fictitious brand of breakfast cereals. To generalize our results, different product categories should be tested with the same research design in future works. Practical implications: This study recommends that food marketers use the Nutri-score to highlight the health and nutritional benefits of their products to increase sales, from a setting like social media. However, brands with unfavourable Nutri-scores should keep in mind that a disclosure of the label will decrease sales. Globally, for policy makers in France and elsewhere, making the Nutri-score mandatory in ads should aid fight poor dieting. Originality/value: One of the major contributions of this study is its exploration of the current food advertising in relation to a front-of-pack nutritional label. Another contribution is that disclosing different grades of the Nutri-score (vs not disclosing them) may serve consumers to assess the product qualities, the ad and the brand and ultimately take a decision.