HFSS regulations update: what you need to know

24 July 2025

Childhood obesity remains a major public health challenge in the UK, with nearly a third of children aged 2 to 15 overweight or obese. To combat this, the government has introduced a series of regulations, which aim to create a healthier environment by reducing our exposure to products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS), often also referred to as ‘less healthy’ food and drink¹.

In this blog we will explore:

The existing regulations on product placement
The upcoming regulations on price promotions and advertising

We’ll also identify which products fall under these regulations and which businesses they affect.
We hope this blog will help our customers and other foodservice businesses gain a better understanding of the regulations and assess whether they need to take action.

Important note: This blog is for general information only and should not be taken as legal advice. Always refer to the official guidance and legislation.

Section 1 – Background

In 2016, the government published Childhood obesity: a plan for action, followed by Chapter 2 in 2018, aiming to reduce the rate of childhood obesity in England within 10 years^2,3. As part of this plan, the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 were introduced for retail stores and their online equivalents^4,5.

This piece of legislation can be broken down into two parts:

In-store and online location restrictions for HFSS products – implemented on the 1st of October 2022.
Volume price promotion restrictions for HFSS products – due to be implemented on the 1^st of October 2025.

The aim of these regulations is to shift the focus onto healthier food and drink, making it easier for parents to make healthier choices for their families.

The second piece of legislation to arise from the Childhood Obesity Plan is the Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024, which can also be broken down into two parts^6,7.

A 9pm watershed for HFSS advertising on TV – due to be implemented on the 5^th of January 2026.
A 24-hour restriction on paid-for HFSS advertising online – also due to be implemented on the 5^th of January 2026.

Section 2 – Promotion and placement restrictions

Who is affected:

The promotion and placement restrictions apply to retail stores over 2,000 ft² and their online equivalents, for medium and large businesses (50+ employees) in England.

Businesses exempt from the restrictions include small businesses, schools and educational institutions, care homes, military establishments and the out of home sector (apart from where free refill restrictions apply, see below).

The out of home sector:

The out of home (OOH) sector is exempt from the promotion and placement restrictions, other than the restriction on free refills of sugar-sweetened beverages that are defined as HFSS using the Nutrient Profiling Model.

OOH businesses mainly prepare or sell food for immediate consumption, whether on or off the premises. Examples include cafes, coffee shops, fast food restaurants or contract catering.

OOH businesses located within a retailer are not subject to the promotion and placement restrictions (apart from free refill restrictions) and do not count as part of the retailer’s relevant floor plan⁸.

Section 3 – Promotion and placement: which products are in scope?

What is a HFSS or ‘less healthy’ food or drink?

A prepacked product that falls within one of the categories below.
The product meets the definition of HFSS or ‘less healthy’ when the Nutrient Profiling Model is applied.

Categories in-scope:

Category 1: Soft drinks with added sugar
Category 2: Savoury snacks such as crisps and crackers
Category 3: Breakfast cereals
Category 4: Confectionary including chocolate and sweets
Category 5: Ice cream, lollies and similar frozen products
Category 6: Cakes and cupcakes
Category 7: Sweet biscuits and bars made of cereal, nuts and/or seeds
Category 8: Morning goods including pastries, pancakes and scones
Category 9: Desserts and puddings
Category 10: Sweetened yoghurt and fromage frais
Category 11: Pizzas
Category 12: Chips and potato products
Category 13: ‘Ready meal’ products including breaded and battered products

For full criteria and exclusions, please refer to official guidance and legislation^4,5.

The Nutrient Profiling Model:

The UK Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) scores food and drinks by balancing the contribution from positive components (fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, protein and fibre) with components that should be limited (energy, saturated fat, sugar and salt).

The overall score shows if a food or drink is HFSS or ‘less healthy’⁹.

Section 4 – Upcoming regulations

Advertising regulations:

The upcoming advertising regulations will restrict the advertisement of HFSS products, which are sold for consumption at home or elsewhere. These regulations apply to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (unlike the promotion and placement restrictions which differ across the four nations).

These regulations include a 9pm watershed for advertising on TV and a 24-hour restriction for paid-for advertising online, including all on-demand services. Where businesses advertise on their own website or app, these advertisements are not in scope of the regulations as they are not paid for. Furthermore, in-store advertisements, such as posters or A boards, are not in scope.

Who is affected?

The regulations apply to businesses with 250+ employees, who are involved in manufacturing or selling food or drink. They must also pay to advertise these products to consumers online and on TV. This includes retailers, manufacturers (if selling direct to consumers) and the out of home sector.

Please note, there are existing restrictions which ban HFSS products from being advertised during children’s television (and programmes with a high proportion of children viewers). These restrictions were introduced for TV in 2007 and for all other media in 2017. The upcoming regulations are further to these existing restrictions¹⁰.

Price promotion regulations:

The upcoming price promotion regulations mean that businesses in scope must not offer volume price promotions on HFSS food or drink that is in scope of the regulations. This includes:

Multibuy promotions e.g. ‘3 for the price of 2’.
Promotions that indicate that an item (or part of an item) is free e.g. ‘buy one get one free’ or ‘50% extra free’.
Financial incentives such as ‘buy 3 products get 1,000 loyalty points’, where the customer is incentivised to buy more.

Offers that are not volume price promotions are not in scope of the regulations, please refer to the legislation and government guidance for more information^4,5.

Section 5 – Advertising: which products and adverts are in scope?

Products in scope:

Identifying products covered by the advertising regulations follows a similar process to that used for promotion and placement rules. However, there are important differences to note.

As the advertising regulations also apply to items served OOH, products and meals can be pre-packed, non-prepacked or food served loose and all variations are included (frozen, chilled, ambient, ready-to-eat/drink and on-the-go).

Furthermore, whilst the product categories in the advertising regulations have been aligned to those in the placement and promotions regulations where possible, the scope of some advertising categories are broader (in particular, category 13) and cover items such as:

Products ordered from a menu which by themselves, or together with other menu items, are intended to be eaten as a complete meal e.g. a burger and fries or a children’s meal bundle.
Sandwiches of any kind such as baguettes, wraps, filled muffins, toasties or paninis.

For full criteria and exclusions, please refer to official guidance and legislation^6,7.

Which adverts are in scope?

If an in-scope HFSS product is clearly ‘identifiable’ in a paid-for online or TV advert, that advert is subject to the advertising regulations. However, ‘brand advertising’, where the focus is on the overall brand and a specific HFSS product cannot be identified, – is not in scope of the restrictions.

Following confusion and pushback around this point, the government recently delayed the regulations to explicitly exempt ‘brand advertising’^11,12.

Finally, although the regulations have been pushed back to the 5^th of January 2026, industry has committed to comply with the regulations from the 1^st of October 2025 (which was the original implementation date).

These regulations mark a shift towards promoting healthier food, drink and eating habits across the UK.

Remember:

Product placement restrictions are already in place for medium and large retailers, which do not apply to the OOH sector.
Price promotion restrictions will come into effect soon, which do not apply to OOH sector, except for the specific restriction around the refill of sugary drinks.
Advertising restrictions will come into effect soon, which do apply to the OOH sector.
Whilst the advertising restrictions have been pushed back to January 2026, industry has committed to comply with the regulations from October this year.
Affected businesses should review the official guidance and legislation, as well as their menus/products to identify HFSS items.
If HFSS items are found to be in-scope of the advertising restrictions, marketing strategies should be adjusted accordingly.
Look out for the final guidance from the Advertising Standards Authority.
Seek expert advice if you need help navigating these regulations in your business context.

By taking these steps early, industry can remain compliant with regulatory requirements and support public health initiatives.

Keep informed on the latest news impacting the hospitality and wholesale industry here: Current affairs and food industry news.

References:

HFSS regulations update: what you need to know

Section 1 – Background