From 1 October 2025, UK food and drink businesses with 250+ employees will face strict new rules on advertising products high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS). These changes – rooted in the Health and Care Act 2022 – will reshape how brands engage consumers across TV and online. Businesses must act now to audit product lines, rethink creative, and prepare for a more regulated digital future.

Published 27 January 2025

New restrictions on advertising food and drink that is high in fat, salt, or sugar (“HFSS”) across television and online platforms will come into force on 1 October 2025.

The Health and Care Act 2022 (which amended the Communications Act 2003) made provision for a 9pm watershed restriction on the advertising of certain less healthy food and drink on broadcast TV, and a complete ban on paid for advertising of certain less healthy food and drink online.

The Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024 (the “Regulations”), give practical effect to these provisions.

The Regulations will apply to businesses that are “involve[d] or are associated with the manufacture or sale of food or drink” (including franchises) which have 250 or more employees and pay to advertise HFSS products.

What are the new restrictions?

The Regulations introduce the following restrictions on certain ‘less healthy’ HFSS products:

• Television advertising - a ban on advertising on Ofcom-regulated TV, on demand, and internet protocol television services between 5:30 am and 9:00 pm

• Online advertising - a complete ban on paid for ads online, and on unregulated on-demand and internet protocol television services.

Where services are simultaneously available on an Ofcom-regulated platform and an unregulated platform that are identical in all respects (including the adverts), the service on the unregulated platform will be exempt from the online restrictions to prevent double regulation. 
 
Which products are caught?

The advertising restrictions will apply to food or drink that are determined to be ‘less healthy’ and there is a two-stage process for defining a ‘less healthy’ food or drink product. The product must:

• Fall within one of the product categories in the schedule to the Regulations – these are:
  (i) soft drinks, (ii) savoury snacks, (iii) breakfast cereals, (iv) confectionery, (v) ice cream/lollies, (vi) cakes and cupcakes, (vii) sweet biscuits and bars, (viii) "morning goods" (e.g., croissants), (ix) desserts and puddings, (x) sweetened yogurt, (xi) pizza, (xii) chips and wedges, (xiii) ready meals, products ordered from a menu that are intended to be consumed as a complete meal, battered/breaded seafood and meat products, and sandwiches of any kind

• Score 4 or above for food, or 1 or above for drink when applying the 2004 to 2005 nutrient profiling model using the 2011 technical guidance.

The product categories in scope are similar to the categories in scope with the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 (see our previous article Further restrictions on HFSS (high in fat, salt or sugar) foods are coming) although the advertising restrictions under the Regulations will apply to products sold or served in the out of home sector as well as pre-packed products. 
 
What are the exemptions?

• A non-exhaustive list of exemptions are included for each category in the Guidancefrom the Department of Health and Social Care, which is designed to help businesses determine the types of products that will be in scope. For example, under Category 4 (confectionery including chocolates and sweets), all dried fruit and yoghurt coated nuts, seeds or fruit are excluded from the restrictions

• Foods that are already subject to separate regulatory regimes such as infant formula, total diet replacement products, meal replacement products, and food for special medical purposes are also exempt

• Non-paid for marketing in brands’ own media (e.g. websites, organic social content), and B2B marketing are still permitted

• SMEs (fewer than 250 employees) can also advertise products that they make or sell.

What about brand advertising?

Under the originally proposed guidance, brand advertising that related to a range of entirely “less healthy” products would fall outside the scope of the restrictions provided that there were no depictions or references to a specific less healthy product in the ad. However, the Committee of Advertising Practice (“CAP”) has stated that some parts of the proposed guidance are likely to require revision.

CAP has stated that the revised guidance is likely to clarify that even if an ad does not explicitly refer to or feature a “less healthy” product, it may still be restricted where persons in the UK could reasonably be expected to be able to identify the ad as being for a “less healthy” product or “less healthy” products. This will be a question of fact and judgment in each case, which CAP says no guidance can conclusively determine.

The new draft guidance is expected soon and will be subject to another round of consultation.

Who will enforce the Regulations?

The Advertising Standards Authority will be the frontline regulator with Ofcom retaining statutory powers to act as a backstop.

What do I need to do now?

UK food businesses involved with the manufacture or sale of food or drink with 250 or more employees, that currently advertise HFSS food should study the Regulations and guidance in detail and review their product lines and marketing strategy to ensure compliance by 1 October 2025.