New government restrictions on the marketing and advertising of high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) or “less healthy” foods will apply in January 2026. This is the result of five-years’ research and consultation to tackle the national obesity crisis and, in particular, the childhood obesity crisis.
Broadly, the legislation wrangles the food and beverage industry across several fronts. The white paper asserts that the current retail promotional environment “does not always align with government healthy eating guidelines” and “makes it harder for families to make healthier choices when shopping”.
An overview of restrictions
Restrictions coming into force in October 2025 apply to volume pricing (for example, multi-buy offers such as “buy one get one free”). However, this tranche of legislation also applies a ban on HFSS advertising, with a 9pm watershed for HFSS food and drink advertising on TV, and a restriction on paid-for advertising online. The ban was originally scheduled for October 2025, but has been pushed back to January 2026. The Advertising Standards Authority will be the regulator with Ofcom retaining statutory powers to act as a backstop.
With the government’s ambition to halve childhood obesity by 2030, the thrust is reducing children’s exposure to HFSS products advertising on TV – hence the watershed of 9pm. However, in an acknowledgement how online entertainment is for children, the ban on showing HFSS products in digital paid-for-advertising is 24/7.
In August 2025, Cancer Research UK published its Digital Influence Study that polled over 4,000 young people aged 11 to 21. According to the report: “More than half (52%) of the young people who took part in the survey said they’d seen posts promoting HFSS products on social media in the past month, from a mix of businesses and influencers.” The legislation includes display, video, social media ads, paid search (including retail media), influencer marketing (including gifting), advertorials and in-game ads.
Exemptions to the ban
So, no more crisps (unless, like Walkers, brands have adapted some of their recipes to qualify for non-HFSS status), high-calorie desserts, junky fast food and fizzy drinks in shot.
Are there any exemptions? Yes: brand platforms, or “owned media”. This is, according to the government, “to ensure that brands can continue to talk about their products in the spaces they own, so that adults are not prevented from travelling to owned media online spaces and so that important factual information can be shared, such as allergen ingredients on a brand’s own online spaces.”
Other formats – including B2B marketing, digital-only audio (like podcasts and music streaming) and small business adverts (the advertising legislation only applies to businesses with more than 249 employees) – are also exempt.
Strategy in the face of HFSS legislation
Without the ability to display juicy burgers, extravagant cheese-pulls and gooey puddings, what’s the solution for brands in 2026? Developing strong storytelling on their own platforms will be crucial to continue building a relationship with audiences and ensuring owned channels gain must-follow status.
Working with creators who can build brand IP and make content for owned platforms to attract new audiences is essential. Producing series with creators Sidemen-style for example, or operating in the vein of fashion brands such as Loewe and Marc Jacobs who commission heroes of the chronically-online to make content on their platforms.
There is also the chance to further build out brand identity, in the vein of Duo Lingo and Ryanair, as well as developing quirky collaborations and curations with celebrities (such as Selena Gomez and Oreo) which lay the foundations for earned media, i.e., getting people to talk about you for free.
On creator channels, brands could activate new pinch points with paid partnerships to replace the visuals of the products. This could include ASMR packaging content and narratives scaffolded on the cultural conversation surrounding the brand. The non-marketing language the everyday consumer uses to describe products and the experience of eating them (“cheeky Nando’s”).
For heritage brands, it’s the chance to exploit brand legacies such as jingles (“Did Somebody Say Just Eat?” or “I’m Lovin’ It”). There is also the possibility of being able to trail campaign content to redirect consumers to brand channels as long as it conforms to the regulations. There are myriad opportunities for brand presence (if not product presence) on creator channels such as sponsoring run clubs, or merely supporting influencer series.
As the legislation asserts, as long as “there are no identifiable HFSS products in the adverts, brands can continue to advertise. This is to ensure that brands are not pigeonholed as synonymous with HFSS products and have the freedom to reformulate and move towards offering healthier products.”
New narratives, creator integration and cross-platform collaborations – all key elements to activate in the run-up to the legislation change in January 2026.
By Emilie McMeekan, insights director for CORQ.
Will the fast food ads ban include influencer content? The government isn’t sure