Disclosure of a “bad” nutri-score: a lucid consumer who rewards brands for their transparency[Divulgation d’un « mauvais » Nutri-Score : un consommateur lucide qui récompense la marque pour sa transparence]

Examining the effects of summary nutrition labels on consumers' perceptions and decisions from advertisements remains an important gap in Front-of-Pack Nutrition Label (FOPNL) research. We focused on the Nutri-score which grades food products from A (best nutritional composition) to E (worst nutritional composition). In two experiments, we examined the influence of disclosing a Nutri-score E (vs control) in an Instagram ad on perceived healthiness, attitudes toward the (fictitious cereal) brand and the ad as well as purchase intentions (n=110) and expanded the scope to perceived (real chocolate spreads) brand transparency (n=95). We found that the disclosure lowered perceived healthiness which, then, led to less favourable attitudes and purchase intentions from the first study. In the second study, the disclosure proved to directly lead to less favourable attitudes and, yet, to more favourable perceptions of brand transparency. We offer implications for marketing practitioners, theory, and public health policy.