Updated on June 17, 2026
Food Safety
15 min read
HFSS advertising restrictions: How food businesses can navigate the changes
Balancing a successful menu with new nutrition laws is a challenge for any busy food business. With the latest high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) advertising legislation having rolled out in January 2026, how you manage your menu is shifting from a marketing choice to a regulated risk.
From multi-site operators to manufacturers, this means navigating a new set of rules when it comes to promoting your products. To help you stay ahead, we’ve broken down what these changes mean for your business and shared expert insights from our Technical Director, Annabel Kyle, on how you can turn compliance into a competitive edge.
HFSS legislation and compliance: At a glance
Here’s the high-level summary of what you need to know:
- What is it?
Restrictions on the placement and advertising of less healthy food and drink (classed as High Fat, Sugar or Salt: HFSS). - Key deadlines
The placement rules are already in force. The 9pm TV watershed and total paid online advertising ban went live on 5 January 2026 (following a period of voluntary compliance since October 2025). - Who is affected?
It broadly applies to businesses operating and selling to England, but depends on the specific restriction. Retail placement rules apply to businesses with 50+ emplpyees, while the advertising restrictions apply to businesses with more than 250 employees.
What is the HFSS ban?
The ban isn’t a single piece of law, but a series of measures designed to reduce the promotion and visibility of foods high in fat, sugar, or salt (HFSS).
While it’s referred to as a ban, it’s actually a suite of legislation that affects how products high in fat, sugar, or salt are sold in-store and advertised across TV in the UK.
The HFSS ban has been gradually phased in from 2022, with new rules and legislation introduced since then. Here’s a timeline of the changes to date:
- June 2018 – Initial concerns around childhood obesity were raised when the UK government published its Childhood obesity: a plan for action guidance, with the goal of halving childhood obesity by 2030.
- April 2022 – Initial advertising restrictions received Royal Assent. This included introducing a 9pm watershed for the advertisement of HFSS products on television and UK on-demand programmes.
- October 2022 – The ban on HFSS products placed in high-footfall locations in retail stores was introduced. These include checkouts, store entrances, and aisle ends, and apply to retailers with 50 employees or more and stores of over 185.8m².
- October 2022 – As part of the same piece of legislation, a ban on volume-price promotions (like ‘buy one get one free’ or ‘3 for £10’ deals on HFSS items) was introduced. However, delays meant that the restrictions didn’t come into force for businesses in England until 1 October 2025.
- January 2026 – The 9pm TV watershed and a total ban on paid-for advertising for HFSS products officially took effect across the UK.
- March 2026 – The Welsh Government introduced its equivalent regulations, which include the ban on volume-price promotions and additional restrictions on on-pack price marking.
- October 2026 – Following a period of consultation, Scotland is set to implement its equivalent suite of HFSS promotion and placement restrictions to align with the rest of the UK.
The advertising rules across the UK are the latest to be brought into force in England, with more expected to follow in the future.
The Advertising Codes set the standards for what can and cannot be shown in ads, and these are written by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP). The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) enforces these rules and can refer businesses that break them to Ofcom (the UK’s regulator for communication services), which then has the power to impose fines.
What counts as a ‘less healthy’ product (LHP)?
To understand the impact of the HFSS legislation, you first need to know which items in your portfolio are legally classified as a ‘less healthy’ product (LHP).
An LHP is any food or drink that:
- Falls into one of the government’s 13 specified categories (like soft drinks, confectionery, savoury snacks, cereals, ice creams, cakes, morning foods such as pastries, and desserts),
- And fails the Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM)
Whether a product is restricted under the HFSS ban is determined by the Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM). The NPM system assigns points based on negative nutrients (energy, saturated fat, sugar, and sodium) vs positive nutrients (fruit, vegetables, nuts, fibre, and protein).
- Food is classified as an LHP if it scores 4 or more.
- A drink is classified as an LHP if it scores 1 or more.
Why is the HFSS legislation being introduced?
The HFSS legislation is part of a long-term commitment to improving the UK’s public health. The initial framework was established several years ago, and these measures also support the government’s 10-year health plan. This plan aims to halve childhood obesity by 2030 and reduce long-term pressure on the NHS.
By restricting nudge tactics, such as placing tempting treats at checkouts or offering buy-one-get-one-free deals, the law encourages people to make the healthier choice, shifting habits away from impulse purchases of less healthy items.
A large part of the HFSS ban changes the way foods high in fat, salt, and sugar are marketed, especially to children and younger generations who are often exposed to TV and online advertising.
What does the HFSS legislation cover?
The HFSS ban covers three main areas that impact your day-to-day operations and marketing strategy:
1. In-store placement restrictions
If your business has more than 50 employees and a store larger than 2,000 square feet, you can’t display restricted products in high-footfall ‘impulse’ locations. This includes:
- Checkouts and queues — No HFSS products within 2m of a till or designated queuing area.
- Aisle ends — End-of-aisle units and adjacent displays must be free of restricted items.
- Store entrances — Foyers and entrance areas are now HFSS-free zones.
HFSS advertising restrictions
As of January 2026, the rules for how you reach your customers on screen have changed:
- The TV watershed — Ads for HFSS products are prohibited between 5:30am and 9:00pm. This applies to businesses with 250 or more employees.
- The paid online ban — Online advertising of restricted products is now banned, including sponsored social media posts, paid search results and online ads, and influencer partnership (including those that feature ‘payment in kind’ or free products as payments). This applies across social platforms, apps, and streaming websites and also affects organisations with 250+ employees.
- Out of Home (OOH) advertising — Traditional and digital outdoor advertising, like billboards, bus stops, and posters, are exempt from the new 2026 advertising rules. However, they must still comply with existing CAP Code rules, which state that HFSS ads cannot be placed in media where under-16s make up more than 25% of the audience. Or, placed within a 100-meter radius around school perimeters. Companies that meet the 250+ employee threshold must follow the OOH advertising guidelines.
- Print media — Print ads in newspapers and magazines are banned if they are specifically directed at children, or included in publications where children make up over 25% of the readership.
- Direct mail and email — You can still reach customers directly via post or email, but you must take all reasonable steps to make sure that you aren’t targeting anyone under the age of 16 with HFSS products. This means keeping your mailing lists clean and free from under-16s.
Note: You can still promote your brand as a whole, like showing a range of products, as long as the ad doesn’t feature any ‘recognisable’ HFSS items[14.1][15.1]. Also, organic (non-paid) social media content isn’t affected by the new HFSS advertising restrictions.
Volume and price promotions
Since October 2025, multibuy deals like ‘3 for 2’ or ‘buy one get one free’ (BOGOF) have been prohibited for restricted HFSS items. This applies to both physical stores and e-commerce platforms.
Where can businesses find official HFSS guidance?
We always recommend staying close to the primary sources to make sure that your compliance strategy is water-tight. Some key resources to familiarise yourself with are:
- The Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024 — For the legislation that has been brought into effect.
- The Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 — For the regulations on HFSS placement and promotion.
- Restricting advertising of less healthy food or drink on TV and online — For government guidance to help businesses navigate the changes and comply with the restrictions.
How will food businesses respond to HFSS legislation?
As we move into a period of stricter enforcement, the impact of the HFSS legislation is forcing a strategic rethink across the industry. It’s no longer just about where a product sits on a shelf; it’s about how your entire brand portfolio aligns with a more health-conscious regulatory environment.
Here are some of the ways we’re expecting businesses to react in the wake of the ban.
The shift toward mandatory healthy food sales reporting
One of the most significant changes is the move toward mandatory reporting. As part of the 10-year health plan, the focus is shifting from what you can’t do (advertising and placement) to what you are doing.
Large, multisite food businesses, retailers, and manufacturers will soon be required to report on the proportion of their sales that come from healthy versus unhealthy (HFSS) products.
Annabel Kyle, our Technical Director, predicts:
“In the future, we could start to see the government moving from simple reporting to setting specific health targets for the industry. Businesses that aren’t already tracking their sales-weighted health scores will find themselves on the back foot when these targets become mandatory. The goal for leaders now should be to prove they can self-regulate before the mandate arrives.”
Consumer anxiety will drive the agenda
While the HFSS legislation focuses on nutrients, the public is increasingly focused on ingredients.
The Food Standards Agency’s 2025 Consumer Insights Tracker survey revealed that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) remain a top-tier concern for consumers, second only to food prices.
There’s a growing sense of label anxiety, whereby consumers are no longer just looking at the traffic light system; they’re looking at the length of the ingredient list. This could lead to a situation where businesses must meet NPM scores by reformulating their product ingredient lists, while also simplifying them to satisfy the demand for ‘cleaner’, more natural labels.
For example, by reducing sugar or increasing fibre in a product to lower its score below the threshold, it wouldn’t be bound by the advertising ban requirements.
Annabel notes:
“The UPF debate is a reminder that consumer trust is fragile. Success in the future won’t just mean cutting salt or sugar to bypass advertising bans, it will mean doing so with integrity. If you can reformulate using recognisable, kitchen-cupboard ingredients, you satisfy both the regulator and the increasingly wary consumer.”
A shift in “brand-first” marketing
With HFSS qualifying products now facing a 9pm watershed and a total ban on paid online ads, the legislation provides a specific brand-only exemption.
This means that while you can’t show or identify a restricted product, you can still promote your brand identity, values, and logos.
We predict that there could be a major pivot toward this style of brand-level storytelling. Instead of promoting a specific HFSS item, businesses are likely to lean into their values, service, and atmosphere.
It allows them to maintain a presence in the market and stay in front of their audience without falling foul of the rules.
Annabel adds:
“The brand-only exemption is a lifeline for visibility, but it must be handled with care. The test is whether a consumer can identify a specific HFSS product from your ad. While some larger brands are using loopholes — like shifting budgets into outdoor digital billboards or video game advertising — I wouldn’t recommend this as a long-term strategy. Regulatory gaps tend to close quickly, and chasing them is only a short-term solution for a long-term goal.
We would advise clients to focus on their heritage, their people, or their atmosphere — building an emotional connection that doesn’t rely on a hero product that’s no longer allowed on screen before 9pm.”
How can your business adapt to the HFSS legislation?
By taking a proactive approach to your menu and operations, you can stay compliant and also meet the growing consumer demand for healthier, cleaner options.
1. Conduct a top-to-bottom menu and product audit
The first step is knowing exactly where you stand. You should review your entire product range against the Nutrient Profiling Model to spot which items are currently restricted.
It’s important to remember that this isn’t just about high-level guesses; it means looking at the technical breakdown of every ingredient.
Annabel notes:
“Start with your hero products. If your best-selling items are restricted, your marketing and placement options are suddenly limited. Auditing early gives you the data you need to decide whether to reformulate, reposition, or simply focus your marketing spend elsewhere.”
Here at Food Alert, we offer expert food analysis, labelling and pack copy compliance, and menu checks to give you all the support you need to stay compliant with the HFSS legislation changes.
2. Reformulate with integrity
If an audit reveals a product is just on the cusp of an HFSS score, reformulation can mean it won’t apply to the latest HFSS advertising restrictions. The goal is to reduce fat, sugar, and salt while boosting positive nutrients like fibre or protein.
However, simply swapping sugar for artificial sweeteners may not be enough to satisfy the modern consumer.
As we’ve mentioned, focus on clean-label reformulation, using natural ingredients to improve the nutritional profile without adding a long list of additives.
3. Embrace smart technology for nutrition management
Managing this level of data manually is a recipe for a headache. To stay compliant and ready for any potential future mandatory reporting, you need a single source of truth for your nutritional data.
Instead of managing Nutrient Profiling Model alone, we can help:
- NPM calculations – Using industry-leading sources, like the Erudus database, we take your recipes and specifications to provide an accurate, lab-standard NPM score for your menu items. This comes as part of our HFSS calculation packages.
- Strategic compliance advice – Through our Compliance Membership, you gain direct access to our experts. We don’t just give you a score; we provide the professional guidance needed to interpret those results.
4. Training and communication
Compliance is a team effort. Your marketing team needs to understand the new HFSS advertising restrictions, while your store managers must be clear on the in-store placement rules for checkouts and aisle ends.
Annabel adds:
“Don’t underestimate the importance of clear communication with your staff and your customers. Being transparent about your journey toward a healthier menu builds trust. When your team understands why certain products have moved or why a recipe has changed, they can explain it confidently to your customers.”
5. Review your supplier data
You are only as compliant as your data. This means making sure your suppliers provide full, accurate nutritional breakdowns that include the positive nutrients required for an accurate NPM score.
If that data is missing, you may be scoring higher than necessary, leading to avoidable restrictions.
Annabel notes:
“Many businesses don’t realise that missing data can have a serious impact on NPM scores. Not having data for fruits, vegetables, and legumes or nutrients like fibre and protein usually default to a zero score for those categories. This will likely result in a higher overall score and make it more difficult to classify as ‘healthier’.
For missing sugar, salt, or saturated fat data, the product may be excluded from analysis entirely.
Be sure to audit your supply chains to check that every gram of good nutrition is accounted for.”
What happens if your business doesn’t comply?
Staying on the right side of the new HFSS legislation changes is key to protecting both your finances and your reputation. Enforcement is rigorous, with different bodies overseeing different aspects of the ban.
Here’s what’ll happen if you don’t comply:
- Placement and volume promotions — Trading Standards and local food authorities lead enforcement in England. If a breach is found, you’ll likely receive an improvement notice. Not complying after this is a criminal offence, which can result in a fixed penalty of £2,500.
- Advertising restrictions — The ASA monitors compliance for TV and online ads. While they focus on the immediate withdrawal of non-compliant ads, serious or persistent breaches are referred to Ofcom. Ofcom has the statutory power to issue heavy fines of up to £250,000 or 5% of annual turnover.
Moving forward with confidence following the HFSS ban
While the January 2026 updates represent a huge industry shift, they also offer an opportunity to future-proof your brand.
At Food Alert, we’re here to support you every step of the way from audits to food product specification support, that makes legal compliance simple. For specific guidance on the ban, we offer NPM calculations as part of our HFSS calculation packages. Find out more by reaching out to our food safety specialists today.
