NielsenIQ (NIQ) and FoodHealth Co. partner to integrate FoodHealth’s nutrition scoring system – the FoodHealth Score – into NIQ’s global data tools, marking the first time NIQ will offer a comprehensive nutrient scoring system across its platform.
The FoodHealth Score is a 1-100 index that evaluates products based on nutrient density and ingredient quality. The score, which has already been in use for more than a year at several retailers under FoodHealth Co.’s former name Bitewell, is not changing or rebranding through the partnership, according to FoodHealth Co. Founder and CEO Samantha Citro-Alexander.
“Our strategic alliance with Nielsen is not about developing a new score,” said Citro-Alexander. “It’s about distributing the score much more broadly across the food industry.”
FoodHealth closed a $7.5 million Series A round in May led by Reach Capital and Ulu Ventures, alongside Supply Change Capital, ReThink Food, Refinery Ventures, Mudita, Antler and others. The funding will help scale the FoodHealth Score’s integration – already live at Kroger – into additional retail environments and consumer touchpoints
Use cases for retailers and CPG
The score will be available as part of NIQ’s Product Insight solution, which includes more than 2,000 product-level attributes. Clients will be able to license the FoodHealth Score as they do other product data attributes, according to Beth Morris VP of product insight, NielsenIQ.
“Product Insights will have over 2,000 different attributes of ingredients and items that you can find on the label,” said Morris. “Now we are actually going to be able to offer the FoodHealth Score as an additional attribute.”
Retailers already are using the score internally to inform category-level assortment decisions. Citro-Alexander cited cereal as one example, where teams assess the health score curve of the full category to identify gaps.
If a retailer’s assortment is heavy on low- and higher-scoring products but lacks options in the middle range, the retailer’s buying team can use that insight to fill in the gaps, she explained.
The goal is to help shift shoppers gradually from less healthy choices toward better ones across the full spectrum, Citro-Alexander added.
Reformulation insights for CPGs
Several manufacturers also are using the FoodHealth Score to benchmark products and guide reformulation strategies.
“We have several manufacturer clients who are in the process of reformulating based on our insights,” said Citro-Alexander. “We share with them all of the levers and dials that are impacting their score and our recommendations depending on what type of improvement they want to see.”
The reformulation recommendations often focus on improving both nutrient composition – such as reducing added sugar or sodium – and ingredient quality, such as switching from refined grains to whole grains or replacing certain oils. Both Citro-Alexander and Morris noted that artificial dyes are an increasingly common concern among both CPG clients and consumers.
“The best way that we can move the health of the nation forward is by showing that health is a good business proposition.”
Samantha Citro-Alexander, Founder, CEO, FoodHealth Co.
Data applications in policy and access
Beyond commercial uses, the partnership allows the FoodHealth Score to be applied in academic and public health research. The integrated data can be analyzed by geography and demographic segment to surface trends in nutritional equity and food access.
Data helps identify gaps in nutrition and health across product assortments nationwide, revealing areas that also present potential business opportunities, said Citro-Alexander.
“The best way that we can move the health of the nation forward is by showing that health is a good business proposition,” she added.
In categories like yogurt, peanut butter, bread and frozen entrees, consumers are willing to spend more for higher-scoring products, Citro-Alexander explained. These shifts, she noted, are not niche but reflect broader changes in shopper priorities.
“Consumers are really just prioritizing health in their food choices, and it does reflect in the dollars that they are spending,” Morris added.
The benefit of the partnership “is that we can put really specific dollar figures behind each of the scores,” she said.
The FoodHealth Score currently is live at 20 retailer banners, with plans for further expansion. NIQ and FoodHealth Co. will co-release a series of reports in the coming months exploring regional nutrition disparities and consumer behavior patterns.
