Regulation explainerConsumer Packaged Goods

HFSS promotion restrictions: what CPG planners must check before a calendar reaches a retailer

Rules on less healthy food and drink, often called HFSS rules, restrict where products can be placed, which multibuy offers can run and when products can be advertised. Retailers carry most of the legal duty, but manufacturers plan and fund the promotions, so a non-compliant proposal gets rejected. This explainer covers the scope test, the mechanics caught, the position across Great Britain and how to screen a calendar automatically.

Reviewed 8 min read

On this page
  1. Who the HFSS rules bind, and why manufacturers plan for them anyway
  2. Terms that decide whether a product and an offer are caught
  3. The instruments that apply across Great Britain
  4. Promotion mechanics and placements: which are caught in England
  5. Dates and the scoring model are still moving
  6. Building HFSS checks into promotion planning
  7. Reformulation trade-offs and the evidence to keep
  8. A cereal brand's quarterly calendar with a national grocer
  9. Questions and answers
  10. Sources

Who the HFSS rules bind, and why manufacturers plan for them anyway

In England, the promotion and placement rules apply to businesses with 50 or more employees that sell specified food to consumers, with franchises counted as part of the franchisor's business1. A manufacturer that sells only to retailers and wholesalers is not a qualifying business, but one that also sells to consumers, for example through its own online shop, is in scope for those sales1.

The practical burden still lands on manufacturers, because brands propose and fund most promotions and retailers accept or refuse them. A calendar a retailer cannot legally run wastes negotiation time and trade budget, so the checks belong in the manufacturer's planning, before a proposal is sent.

Advertising restrictions are a separate UK-wide regime that falls on advertisers; the regulation map below covers it.

Terms that decide whether a product and an offer are caught

Specified food
A prepacked food or drink in one of the listed categories, such as breakfast cereals, savory snacks, confectionery or sweet biscuits, that also fails the nutrient profiling test1.
Nutrient profiling model (NPM)
A score that adds points for energy, saturated fat, sugars and sodium and subtracts points for fruit, vegetable and nut content, fiber and protein. A food scoring 4 or more, or a drink scoring 1 or more, fails1.
Volume price promotion
An offer linking a price benefit to buying more, such as a multibuy, buy-one-get-one-free or extra free product; meal deals of different product types fall outside it1.
Identifiable product
The advertising test of whether a less healthy product can be identified in an advert; brand advertising that identifies none is exempt34.

The instruments that apply across Great Britain

Promotions and placement are set nation by nation, while advertising rules apply UK-wide. Each date below was checked against an official source on the review date.

Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations, SI 2021/1368

England

Applies whenA qualifying business offers specified food to consumers in store or online2.

  • Placement restrictions at checkouts, aisle ends, store entrances and their online equivalents, in force since 1 October 20221.
  • Volume price promotions and free refills of less healthy drinks restricted from 1 October 2025; stock carrying on-pack offers could be sold until 30 September 20261.
  • Breaches can lead to an improvement notice, then a fixed monetary penalty1.

Less healthy food advertising restrictions under the Communications Act, as amended

United Kingdom

Applies whenA business with 250 or more employees advertises an identifiable less healthy product on TV, on-demand or paid online media, under the Communications Act 2003 as amended by the Health and Care Act 202234.

  • No such adverts on TV or Ofcom-regulated on-demand services before 9pm, in force since 5 January 20263.
  • No paid-for online advertising of such products at any time3.
  • Brand advertising that identifies no less healthy product is exempt under the Advertising (Less Healthy Food and Drink) (Brand Advertising Exemption) Regulations 2025, with the Advertising Standards Authority as frontline regulator34.

Food (Promotion and Presentation) (Wales) Regulations, WSI 2025/395

Wales

Applies whenA business with 50 or more employees offers in-scope food to consumers in Wales, since 26 March 20265.

  • Restrictions on volume price promotions, free refills of in-scope drinks, and in-store and online presentation of in-scope food5.
  • Stores with a relevant floor area below 185.8 square meters are exempt from the in-store presentation restriction only5.

Food (Promotion and Placement) (Scotland) Regulations, SSI 2025/303

Scotland

Applies whenA business with 50 or more employees offers specified food to consumers in Scotland, from 1 October 20266.

  • Multibuy and free-product offers on specified food banned in store and online, with meal deals exempt; free refills of less healthy drinks restricted6.
  • Placement restrictions at checkouts, main-route aisle ends and entrances in stores of 185.8 square meters or more6.

Promotion mechanics and placements: which are caught in England

A first screen for specified products only. Products outside the categories, or that pass the nutrient test, are not restricted.

Mechanic or placementCaught for specified food?Planning note
Buy-one-get-one-free, three-for-two and other multibuysYes, in store and online1.Switch to a single-unit price cut, or move the activity to non-specified lines.
Extra free product at the same priceYes, as a free-product offer1.Check on-pack flashes at artwork stage, since packaging lead times are longer than promotion lead times.
Temporary price reduction on a single unitNo, simple discounts remain allowed1.Placement rules still apply, so the item cannot sit at an aisle end in a larger store.
Meal deal or similar bundleNo, if it bundles different product types; standalone multibuys of crisps or drinks are caught1.Confirm the bundle structure with the retailer's compliance team.
Multipack sold as one itemGenerally no, unless it is framed as cheaper than separate packs1.Avoid on-pack wording that presents the multipack as a saving on singles.
Aisle-end, entrance or checkout displayYes, in stores of 185.8 square meters or more, with limited exemptions1.Plan secondary displays for non-specified variants or in-aisle locations.
Online homepage, pop-up or checkout-page featureYes, with limited exceptions1.Retail media plans need the same product screening as in-store displays.

Simplified from the official guidance; check it and the retailer's own policy for edge cases.

Dates and the scoring model are still moving

Building HFSS checks into promotion planning

The aim: no proposal leaves the manufacturer with a mechanic or placement the retailer would have to refuse. Most of the work is product master data.

  1. Hold nutrient inputs in the product master

    Store, per SKU and recipe version, the values the scoring model needs, the category assignment and its evidence. Treat a reformulation as a new version, not an edit.

    Output
    Versioned nutrition attributes
    Owner
    Regulatory and product data teams

  2. Score every SKU automatically

    Calculate the score under the current model and, while the change is pending, the proposed one, storing each result with its calculation date.

    Output
    Specified status per SKU and model

  3. Rule-check each promotion line

    Test mechanic, placement, channel and nation against each nation's rules: multibuy or extra-free mechanics, aisle-end and checkout displays, homepage or checkout-page features.

    Output
    Pass, fail or review per line
    Owner
    Revenue growth management

  4. Route exceptions before submission

    Return failed lines to the account team with compliant alternatives, such as a single-unit price cut or a non-specified variant, and send borderline cases to regulatory review.

    Output
    Compliant proposal

  5. Keep an evidence trail

    Retain the score, its inputs, the rule version and the decision for each promotion, and push updated nutrition attributes to retailers' product data feeds after any reformulation so their checks match yours.

    Output
    Audit record per event

Reformulation trade-offs and the evidence to keep

Passing one scoring model and failing the next

Early signalRecipes tuned to sit just under the current threshold.

MitigationScore candidate recipes under both models before committing to a reformulation.

Taste or cost changes that weaken the core range

Early signalSensory scores or repeat purchase fall after a recipe change.

MitigationTest reformulated variants beside the original before switching the whole range.

Category assignment disputes

Early signalA product sits between a listed and an unlisted category.

MitigationRecord the reasoning and the guidance passage behind each assignment, and revisit it when guidance changes.

A cereal brand's quarterly calendar with a national grocer

Questions and answers

Do HFSS rules apply to food manufacturers or only to retailers?

Mostly to retailers, but not only. In England the promotion and placement rules bind businesses with 50 or more employees that sell specified food to consumers, so a manufacturer is caught when it sells direct, for example through its own online shop1. Wales and Scotland have their own regulations with similar scope56. The advertising restrictions apply to advertisers, often the brand owner, and because retailers must refuse non-compliant promotions, manufacturers need the same checks in their own planning.

Are price cuts on HFSS products still allowed?

Yes. Simple price reductions on a single unit, such as a percentage off or a lower shelf price, are not volume price promotions and remain allowed in England1. What is restricted for specified food is tying a price benefit to buying more. The reduced product is still subject to the placement rules, so it cannot sit at an aisle end or beside a checkout in a larger store.

How should we prepare for a new nutrient profiling model?

Score your range under both the current model and the proposed one now, to see which products would change status. The government consulted in 2026 on applying the new model to the promotions and advertising rules7; until it confirms the outcome, the current model remains the legal test. Use the dual scores to prioritize reformulation and to favor promotions that stay compliant either way.

Sources

  1. Restricting promotions of products high in fat, sugar or salt by location and by volume price: implementation guidance — Department of Health and Social Care (GOV.UK) · checked 10 October 2026
  2. The Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/1368) — legislation.gov.uk · checked 10 October 2026
  3. Less healthy food or drink: advertising and promotions restrictions — Department of Health and Social Care (GOV.UK) · checked 10 October 2026
  4. Restricting advertising of less healthy food or drink on TV and online: products in scope — Department of Health and Social Care (GOV.UK) · checked 10 October 2026
  5. The Food (Promotion and Presentation) (Wales) Regulations 2025 (WSI 2025/395) — legislation.gov.uk · checked 10 October 2026
  6. High fat, sugar or salt (less healthy) foods: Scotland — Business Companion (Chartered Trading Standards Institute) · checked 10 October 2026
  7. Applying the new NPM to advertising and promotions restrictions — Department of Health and Social Care (GOV.UK) · checked 10 October 2026

More in Consumer Packaged Goods

Back to Consumer Packaged Goods

Next step

Have your promotion calendar screened against HFSS rules

Send a sample calendar and the product data behind it. We will reply with a view on how automated nutrient scoring and rule checks could fit your planning process, and which data gaps to close first.

Discuss HFSS checks