# Nutri-Score (Front-of-Pack Colour-Grade Label)

> A small, fixed public-health sign that grades a whole food instead of warning about one nutrient. A white rounded box holds a grey 'NUTRI-SCORE' heading in heavy geometric capitals over five tiles from dark green A to dark orange E; the product's own letter swells into a taller capsule with a white keyline while the other four letters fade to tints. Owned as a trade mark by Santé publique France and voluntary, it is built from fixed modules, six fixed colours and a minimum size, and sits in the lower third of the pack front.

- Period: 2017–present
- Where: Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe
- Origin: France: a five-colour front-of-pack label developed for Santé publique France, the national public-health agency, on the work of the nutrition epidemiologist Serge Hercberg (Sorbonne Paris North University), whose report to the health minister of 15 November 2013 proposed a graded nutrition logo. In a field test launched in September 2016 in 60 supermarkets in four regions over ten weeks it was compared with the SENS, Nutri-Couleurs (traffic-light) and Nutri-Repères labels, and the French government selected it in March 2017; a ministerial order of October 2017 fixed it as the State-recommended complementary presentation of the nutrition declaration. Santé publique France holds it as a European Union trade mark and issues the conditions of use and a graphic charter (Annex 2). Belgium formally adopted it on 2 April 2019, Switzerland's federal food-safety office has supported it since 2019, Germany and Luxembourg followed in 2020 and the Netherlands in 2021, while Spain backed voluntary use from November 2018 and Portugal's outgoing government adopted it in April 2024 before its successor annulled the order that June. Its five colours are, in the French sources' words, 'inspirées de celles des feux tricolores' (the traffic light), and its lettered grade sits in the family of the EU energy label's A–G efficiency classes (Directive 92/75/EEC, 1992)
- Branch: Rational modernism
- Also known as: 5-Colour Nutrition label (5-CNL), Front-of-pack colour grade, Colour-scale rating label, A–E food label
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/nutri-score-label/

## Use it with care

Nutri-Score is an EU trade mark of Santé publique France, licensed to food firms only under its conditions of use, and a grade printed on a pack is a nutrition claim. Do not put the real logo or a convincing imitation on products, mock-ups or generated images in a way that could pass for a genuine score; for fictional or teaching work, change the name or say clearly that the grade is illustrative, and check the current algorithm before showing any real product's letter.

## How it works

- Grade, do not warn: give the whole product one letter on a five-step scale from A (dark green) to E (dark orange) and show the full scale every time, so the shopper sees where it stands among the alternatives on the same shelf.
- Lift the product's own grade out of the row: enlarge its letter into a taller rounded capsule with a white outline, set it in white, and knock the other four letters back to pale tints of their tiles.
- Fix everything that carries meaning: copy one of the ten supplied modules (five grades, horizontal or vertical, horizontal by default), keep the six colours (dark and light green, yellow, orange, dark orange and the K65 grey of the lettering), and never redraw, recolour, reset the type or separate the parts.
- Scale it by rule rather than by eye: derive the module width from the front face (a tenth of length plus height on a rectangular pack), never go below 17 mm so the lettering stays at least 1.2 mm, and keep a clear white margin around it; add the grey keyline version on white or very pale grounds.
- Place it in the lower third of the front of the pack, among the brand's own photography and lettering, so the official grade reads as a calm, standardised inset rather than a takeover of the design.
- Extend the system instead of improvising: use the monochrome (K100 to K45) or line version only when four-colour printing is impossible, a multi-score module for assortments, and a 'New calculation' tab when the algorithm changes.

## Its design choices

Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then.

### Layout & composition
- [Isolated object](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/isolated-object/) (characteristic)
- [Framed panels](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/framed-panels/) (characteristic)
- [Cards & bento tiles](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/cards-and-bento-tiles/) (occasional)
- [Modular grid](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/modular-grid/) (occasional)
- [Collage & layering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/collage-and-layering/) (occasional)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Single focal point](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/single-focal-point/) (defining)
- [Repetition & rhythm](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/repetition-and-rhythm/) (defining)
- [Extreme scale contrast](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/extreme-scale-contrast/) (characteristic)
- [Layered information](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/layered-information/) (characteristic)
- [Generous white space](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/generous-white-space/) (occasional)

### Typography
- [Geometric sans](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-sans/) (defining)
- [All caps](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/all-caps/) (defining)
- [Eclectic mixing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/eclectic-mixing/) (occasional)

### Colour
- [Flat fields](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/) (defining)
- [Full polychrome](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/full-polychrome/) (characteristic)
- [Light ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/light-ground/) (characteristic)
- [Analogous harmony](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/analogous-harmony/) (occasional)
- [Monochrome](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/monochrome/) (occasional)
- [Gradients](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/gradients/) (occasional)
- [Pastel](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/pastel/) (occasional)

### Form & shape
- [Rounded & pill](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rounded-and-pill/) (defining)
- [Rectilinear](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rectilinear/) (characteristic)
- [Geometric primitives](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-primitives/) (occasional)

### Surface & texture
- [Flat](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat/) (defining)

### Ornament
- [Emblems & badges](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/emblems-and-badges/) (characteristic)
- [Ornament-free](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/ornament-free/) (characteristic)
- [Borders & frames](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/borders-and-frames/) (occasional)

### Imagery
- [Diagram & data](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/diagram-and-data/) (defining)
- [Icons & pictograms](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/icons-and-pictograms/) (characteristic)
- [Typography only](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/typography-only/) (occasional)
- [Straight photography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/straight-photography/) (occasional)

### Medium & production
- [Offset printing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/offset-printing/) (defining)
- [Web & CSS](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/web-and-css/) (occasional)
- [App & OS interface](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/app-and-os-interface/) (occasional)

### Tone & intent
- [Rational & objective](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rational-and-objective/) (defining)
- [Authoritative & institutional](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/authoritative-and-institutional/) (characteristic)
- [Warm & approachable](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/warm-and-approachable/) (occasional)

Avoids: Angular & zigzag, Dark ground, Agitational & persuasive, Abundant decoration, Ornamented display, Script, Experimental & distorted, Diagonal axis, Gloss & highlights, Skeuomorphic material, Horror vacui

Palette: #038141, #85bb2f, #fecb02, #ee8100, #e63e11, #7d7d7d

Typefaces: The logo's own lettering: a heavy geometric sans in capitals for the grey 'NUTRI-SCORE' heading and the white and tinted A–E grades, supplied only as vector outlines in the charter's Illustrator files; the charter's rule is 'Don't change fonts', Raleway, the open-source geometric sans in which Santé publique France sets the graphic charter itself, from light text weights to Black display, The brand's own logotype and pack lettering, which the scheme leaves untouched around the module, so every labelled pack sets a manufacturer's display face beside the state-issued grade

Known for: Santé publique France, Nutri-Score Graphic Charter (English edition, March 2024): ten modules, four-colour values (dark green C100 M25 Y100, light green C55 Y100, yellow M20 Y100, orange M60 Y100, dark orange M90 Y100, grey K65), monochrome and line versions, module-size calculation, 17 mm minimum and lower-third placement; Colruyt and Delhaize own-brand ranges in Belgium, which began carrying the module gradually from around September 2018; Own-brand roll-outs announced in 2017 by Intermarché, E.Leclerc, Auchan and Fleury Michon, and Danone's plan to put it on fresh dairy products in Belgium from January 2019; French retail shelves by November 2019, when more than 200 brands showed the module on about 5,400 products; The Dutch draft regulation designating Nutri-Score as the national food-choice logo under the 'Conditions of use of the Nutri-Score logo, version 10 July 2020', notified to the European Commission in 2021, which describes the dark green A and dark orange E and the graphic charter's rules on size, colour and placement; The 'transition period logo' with a 'New calculation' / 'Nouveau calcul' tab for the updated algorithm, applied from 1 January 2024 in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland and from the order of 14 March 2025 in France, with a 24-month transition; Multi-score modules on assortment packs (mini-desserts, ice creams and sorbets) shown in the graphic charter: one A–E strip with each product's grade raised and a legend under it naming which product has which grade

## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to

- Influenced by: [Corporate Identity Modernism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/corporate-modernism.md) (1955–1990)
- Alike in its design choices: [Roman-like Thai Typography (modern loopless Thai)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/thai-loopless-type.md) (1973–present), 61% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Flat Design](https://stylogeny.com/styles/flat-design.md) (2010–2016), 59% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Isotype Pictorial Statistics](https://stylogeny.com/styles/isotype.md) (1925–1971), 57% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Munich 1972 Olympic Design (Otl Aicher)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/munich-72.md) (1966–1972), 56% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [HfG Ulm Systematic Design](https://stylogeny.com/styles/ulm-school.md) (1953–1968), 56% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Contemporary Arabic & Dual-Script Type Design](https://stylogeny.com/styles/arabic-latin-bilingual-type.md) (2004–present), 55% alike

## Sources

- Santé publique France, 'Nutri-Score Graphic Charter' (English edition, March 2024), as hosted by RAL gGmbH (https://ral.de/app/uploads/2024/12/charta-nutri-score-en.pdf): ten modules, horizontal by default, six fixed colours with CMYK values, monochrome and line versions, grey keyline on pale grounds, lower-third placement, module-size calculation, 17 mm minimum and 1.2 mm lettering, multi-score modules and the 'New calculation' transition period logo; French original listed as 'annexe2-charte-graphique' on santepubliquefrance.fr
- Wikipedia, 'Nutri-Score' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutri-Score): five-colour label rating products A to E, created by Santé publique France on the work of Serge Hercberg (Sorbonne Paris North University), selected by the French government in March 2017 after comparison with industry and retailer labels; Belgium (2 April 2019), Switzerland (2019), Germany and Luxembourg (2020), Netherlands (2021); use by Nestlé, Auchan and Danone in Portugal, Slovenia and Austria; algorithm update announced in April 2023; opposition led by Italy
- Wikipédia (French), 'Nutri-Score' (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutri-Score): Hercberg's report of 15 November 2013 (https://sante.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/rapport_Hercberg_15_11_2013.pdf); the September 2016 field test in 60 supermarkets against SENS, Nutri-Couleurs and Nutri-Repères; the five colours 'inspirées de celles des feux tricolores'; the October 2017 ministerial order; 2017 commitments by Intermarché, E.Leclerc, Auchan and Fleury Michon; Colruyt and Delhaize applying it to their own brands in Belgium from around September 2018; Danone's fresh dairy in Belgium from January 2019; more than 200 brands on 5,400 products in France by November 2019; Spain's voluntary backing in November 2018; Portugal's adoption (dated 2025 there, a slip: its cited Euractiv source is of 8 April 2024; Despacho 3637/2024, annulled by the new government on 11 June 2024)
- Netherlands, Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, draft regulation designating Nutri-Score as the food-choice logo, notified under the EU Technical Regulation Information System (notification text: https://technical-regulation-information-system.ec.europa.eu/en/notification/16842/text/D/FR): Nutri-Score as an EU trade mark registered with the EUIPO by Santé publique France, the 'Conditions of use of the Nutri-Score logo, version 10 July 2020', a dark green A and a dark orange E, and a graphic charter governing dimensions, colour and placement
- Service-Public.fr, 'Ce qu'il faut savoir sur le nouveau Nutri-Score', 20 March 2025 (https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/actualites/A18128): order of 14 March 2025 fixing the State-recommended presentation, two years for operators to update packs, the 'Nouveau calcul' tab, voluntary display
- Wikipedia, 'European Union energy label' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_energy_label): the 1992 labelling scheme with A to G efficiency classes and a colour code, A+ to A+++ added later, and the return to A to G in 2021 under Regulation (EU) 2017/1369

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From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “Nutri-Score (Front-of-Pack Colour-Grade Label)”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/nutri-score-label/