New criteria put positive nutrition and ingredient transparency at the heart of Waitrose’s updated Good Health logo
Waitrose has announced an evolution of its ‘Good Health’ logo, introducing ingredient criteria alongside nutritional standards to make it easier for customers to identify healthier choices.
First launched in 2018, the Good Health logo has helped shoppers identify products that meet Waitrose’s nutritional standards. The refreshed yellow logo shifts the focus beyond traditional measures such as calories and fat, placing greater emphasis on positive nutrition and ingredient transparency.
The move follows internal research showing that 93% of Waitrose Food Lovers prioritise avoiding ultra-processed foods and actively consider ingredient lists when making purchasing decisions.*
Dr Joanne Lunn, Lead Nutritionist at Waitrose, said:
“Our customers look to us for guidance when it comes to making healthy choices, and this move enables us to support Food Lovers to identify even better choices. The new yellow Good Health logo will be easily identifiable across a wide variety of Waitrose products, highlighting healthy choices that have been assessed against criteria covering both ingredients and nutrition.”
She added:
“The labelling of healthy choices has evolved over the years. While the focus used to be on low calories and low fat options, we’re seeing customer demand shift towards more positive nutrition and greater consideration of ingredients. That is why we are expanding our Good Health logo criteria to include ingredients as well as nutrition.”
Riad Beladi said:
“Customers are increasingly looking beyond the front of pack and taking a closer look at what is actually inside the products they buy. This evolution of the Good Health logo reflects that changing expectation, giving shoppers a clearer way to identify products that combine positive nutritional qualities with simpler, more transparent ingredients.”
New dual criteria for Good Health products
To carry the refreshed yellow Good Health logo, products must meet two clear benchmarks covering both ingredients and nutrition.
Ingredient standards: Products must contain zero additives or fewer less-recognisable ingredients, removing markers commonly associated with ultra-processed foods.
Nutrition standards: Products must carry at least one valid health or nutrition claim, classify as non-HFSS (not high in fat, sugar or salt) under the UK Government’s Nutrient Profile Score, and have zero red traffic lights. Exceptions apply to naturally occurring fats found in foods such as nuts, seeds, avocados, milk and fish, as well as naturally occurring sugars. Amber traffic lights for saturated fat are permitted only where no added saturated fats are present.
The updated logo builds on Waitrose’s ongoing programme to reduce unnecessary additives across its own-label range. Over the past 20 months, Waitrose has improved the recipes of 110 own-label products, removing 220 unnecessary additives.
Waitrose also maintains a strict prohibition on artificial colours and flavourings and prohibits the use of 146 specific additives across its own-label portfolio, including 16 additions to the prohibited list during the past 20 months. Suppliers are required to provide formal justification when functional additives are retained in recipes.
The changes form part of Waitrose’s wider approach to reducing unnecessary industrial stabilisers, emulsifiers and other additives while increasing transparency around the ingredients used in its products.
Supporting healthier choices
The new yellow Good Health logo will begin appearing across Waitrose stores and online from September, replacing the existing green logo where products meet the updated criteria. More than 1,000 products are expected to remain within the Good Health range following the change.
Waitrose is also continuing to increase the availability of products featuring nutritious wholefoods. Its Plant Variety logo currently appears on more than 240 products containing ingredients including beans, pulses, wholegrains, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices.
By 2030, Waitrose aims to increase the share of total sales coming from healthier options to 85%, compared with a baseline of 78%. The retailer has also committed to increasing fibre sold from key categories by 25% by 2030 and has signed up to the Food Foundation’s Bang in Some Beans campaign, pledging to increase tonnes of beans sold by 25% by 2028.
The refreshed Good Health logo represents the latest step in Waitrose’s ongoing work to respond to changing customer expectations and support shoppers in making informed choices.
