Nutri-Score is a nutritional label introduced by the French government in 2017, and has been since adopted by brands and retailers across Europe. Based on the nutrition table present on every food pack, it can rate any food, including chocolate and sweets, from the green A to the red E, where the closer to A a product is, the healthier it is.

But what are the ingredients that influence the rating? According to the algorithm, goodies, ingredients that promote a “greener” score, are proteins, fibers, fruits, vegetables and nuts; baddies, ingredients that promote a worse Nutri-Score, are energy, sugars, saturated fats and salt. 

Nestlé and Danone are proactively leading a campaign to make Nutri-Score a standard of the food industry, as it’s easy to read and helps consumers understand what they buy. Also some retailers are imposing Nutri-Score to each brand present on their shelves: Carrefour and the Belgian Delhaize are two examples.

2 - Reformulate your product

When chocolate is not the main ingredient of your product, the most efficient strategy is to reformulate the whole recipe. It may include introducing chocolate with a better Nutri-Score, reformulating the dough, and replacing decorations with better-scoring ones, such as nuts.

Thanks to a deep ingredient knowledge, Barry Callebaut’s experts are able to quickly help identify which direction you should take; thanks to the wide portfolio of chocolate and decorations, we can also suggest the right ingredients to introduce. If you would like a deep dive into the topic, please reach out to your account manager or your customer R&D.