In France, Carrefour launches a new personalised solution that recommends products to customers based on an individual profile with their food preferences and allergies. The retailer wants to roll out the tool to other countries as well.
Alternative to the Nutri-Score
A tool that calculates a nutritional score based on personal dietary preferences and health criteria: this is the solution Carrefour introduces in cooperation with American platform Innit. One might see it as an alternative (or an addition) to the Nutri-Score. A scientific committee gives processed food products a health score from 1 to 100: 60% of the points are determined by the nutrients, 30% by the additives and 10% are added if it is an organic product. The retailer has been publishing these scores in its webshop alongside the Nutri-Score since June, but has now added the option of personalising the score: the points then vary according to the shopper’s personal profile.
Consumers have to fill in a form with their dietary preferences: vegetarian, sporty, slimming, no pork… They can also indicate whether they want products with less sugar and salt or more fibre, as well as what they like and what they don’t like. Products that better meet expectations are then given a higher personalized score. Carrefour can suggest alternatives for less healthy products. The score only applies to processed products, not to unprocessed fruit and vegetables, meat or fish. Products such as oil, sugar, alcohol and baby food are also excluded.
The retailer guarantees that the data is anonymised and excludes any use for marketing or advertising. The solution is fully in line with the Act for Food programme, says e-commerce director Amélie Oudéa-Castéra to LSA. Carrefour wants to expand the system to other countries in due course, but does not give any further details yet.
