The webinar will be divided into two parts:

Part 1: “Scanning to Eat Better? Nutritional Apps such as Yuka as Levers for Food Transition”

Presented by Marie-Eve Laporte, Professor at Université Paris-Saclay, RITM Research Center in Economics & Management

Abstract

In response to the health and environmental challenges associated with food consumption, numerous tools have been developed to guide consumers toward healthier choices. In addition to nutrition labels displayed on food packaging, such as the Nutri-Score, scanning applications like Yuka now allow consumers to evaluate products at the point of purchase and identify alternatives perceived as healthier.

These applications differ from traditional nutritional information tools in both their mode of use and positioning. Consumers actively choose to scan a product, gain access to multiple layers of information, and can immediately compare alternative options. Moreover, some users perceive these applications as more independent than traditional sources of nutritional information. As a result, they may serve as an alternative source of trust in a context characterized by growing skepticism toward institutions and food companies.

This presentation draws on research published in Psychology & Marketing, combining the analysis of more than 16,000 user reviews, a survey, and two experiments. The findings show that nutritional applications can, in certain circumstances, be more effective than official nutritional labels. Their influence is particularly strong when a product receives a poor nutritional rating, when consumers distrust institutions and food companies, and when the product is marketed by a moderately known brand rather than a highly recognized one.

These findings suggest that scanning applications and public nutritional information systems should be viewed as complementary tools for supporting food transition. Official labels continue to play an essential role by ensuring scientific consistency and comparability across products. Applications, on the other hand, can empower consumers and help restore confidence in nutritional information.

Speaker Biography: Marie-Eve Laporte

Marie-Eve Laporte is Professor of Health Management at Université Paris-Saclay, within the Réseaux, Innovation, Territoires et Mondialisation (RITM) laboratory. She co-leads the MIND Health Chair (Management, Innovation and New Dimensions of Health), hosted by the Université Paris-Saclay Foundation. The Chair’s activities focus on three themes: health and food, health and innovation, and health and work.

Her research explores patient orientation, health-promoting behaviors, innovation, and organizational transformation in healthcare. Building on her doctoral research, part of her work focuses on improving dietary habits from a holistic health perspective. She also studies the functioning of public hospitals and management practices that can enhance the quality and organization of care.

A graduate of ESSEC Business School, she holds a PhD and a Habilitation to Supervise Research in Management Sciences. Before joining Université Paris-Saclay, she served as Associate Professor at IAE Paris-Sorbonne, where she directed an Executive MBA in Healthcare, following an earlier career as Marketing and Quality Director in the agri-food industry.

Part 2: “Overall Score or Detailed Information: How Do Consumers Aggregate Health Information Provided by Nutritional Applications?”

Presented by Guillaume Le Borgne, Associate Professor at Institut Agro Montpellier and Researcher at UMR MOISA

Abstract

Alongside nutritional labels and scores displayed on food products, recent years have seen the emergence of nutritional applications (e.g., OpenFoodFacts, Yuka) that provide consumers with a variety of health-related information, including nutritional quality, additive risk levels, and degree of processing. These applications simultaneously present sub-scores (e.g., salt content, saturated fat levels, additive-related risks) and aggregate scores, such as Yuka’s overall score out of 100.

This presentation is based on experimental studies conducted with more than 1,600 participants. The findings show that the way individuals combine sub-scores to evaluate the healthfulness of food products varies both across individuals and according to the type of information presented (nutritional risks versus additive-related risks). In addition, the research demonstrates that the inclusion of an overall score influences consumers’ evaluations of products, and that this influence depends on the method used to calculate the score.

These findings highlight that the calculation methods used to produce overall health scores are not neutral and should therefore be transparent and subject to collective discussion. Furthermore, given the difficulty of defining a single “scientifically indisputable” health score capable of combining heterogeneous information, such as nutrient-related and additive-related indicators, greater attention should be devoted to understanding how consumers perceive and aggregate different types of health information.

Speaker Biography: Guillaume Le Borgne

Guillaume Le Borgne is Associate Professor in Agri-Food Marketing at Institut Agro Montpellier, within the MOISA Joint Research Unit (Montpellier Interdisciplinary Center on Sustainable Agri-Food Systems).

His research focuses on the sustainability of food-related behaviors, including household food waste, bio-waste sorting, purchasing behaviors and quality labels, nutritional behaviors, and more broadly the sustainability of consumption practices, such as carbon footprint reduction and perceptions of the circular economy.

A graduate of École Polytechnique and AgroParisTech, he holds a PhD in Management Sciences from the University of Montpellier (2015). He first served as Associate Professor at Université Savoie Mont Blanc (Annecy University Institute of Technology) before joining INRAE as a visiting researcher. He joined Institut Agro Montpellier in September 2026.