On 5 January 2026, the restrictions on the advertising of “identifiable” less healthy food and drinks (those high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS)) came into force. The restrictions prohibit HFSS products from appearing on daytime television and on-demand programme services, together with paid online media at any time. Under the new rules, many of these campaigns – promoting products that are high in fat, salt or sugar – now face significant limitations, forcing brands to rethink their advertising strategies. However, to assist advertisers in implementing the new legal restrictions, the Government has also released statutory guidance on 4 December 2025 (the Guidance) setting out the corresponding new additions to the UK Advertising Codes and how the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) intends to exercise its functions with these new statutory rules. This article explores how the Guidance came about, the main points addressed within it, and the implications these might have on brands and retailers operating in the HFSS space.

Background to the new rules

On 4 December 2025, CAP and BCAP published the responses to their latest consultation on the implementation of the HFSS advertising restrictions. On the same day, CAP and BCAP published a regulatory statement confirming how the new restrictions will be administered through the UK Advertising Codes, together with the Guidance.

The new Guidance is the final touch in a series of consultations and developing regulations in this space (see our MediaWrites articles here and here for more detail). The most recent consultation was launched by CAP and BCAP in September 2025 on the implementation of the HFSS advertising restrictions. From 5 January 2026, new rules in the UK Advertising Codes will reflect the relevant statutory provisions of the Communications Act 2003 (as amended) that ban new and existing ads for “identifiable” HFSS products from appearing:

• on television between 5:30am and 9:00pm;
• in on-demand programme services between 5:30am and 9:00pm; and
• in paid online media at any time.

What is an identifiable product?

Legislation states that a less healthy product is “identifiable” if persons in the UK could reasonably be expected to be able to identify the advertisements as being for that product (the identifiability test) (for further information see our MediaWrites article here). Part 8 of the Guidance expands on how the identifiability test will be applied by the ASA (being the primary enforcer of these rules along with Ofcom) and states that the advertisement will be assessed from the perspective of a notional ‘average consumer’ (reasonably well-informed, observant and circumspect) rather than the advertiser’s likely intent from its promotional message.

However, there are certain exemptions to the restrictions, namely that they do not apply to:

• advertisements for out-of-scope products (explained in part 4 of the Guidance);
• advertisements for identifiable HFSS products by or on behalf of SMEs (see The Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024) (explained in part 5 of the Guidance);
• advertisements for out-of-scope media (explained in part 6 of the Guidance); or
• brand advertisements where the content does not depict a specific HFSS product (see The Advertising (Less Healthy Food and Drink) (Brand Advertising Exemption) Regulations 2025) (the Brand Advertising Exemption Regulations) (explained in part 7 of the Guidance).

The Guidance seeks to elaborate on these new restrictions and offer guidance and examples to help support brands in their compliance with these new rules.

What counts as brand advertising?

Brand advertising describes an indirect form of advertising by brands where the advertisement does not explicitly feature products or refer to them. In September 2025, the Government laid the Brand Advertising Exemption Regulations before Parliament exempting this type of advertising from the HFSS restrictions. Whilst brand advertising is therefore exempt from the HFSS statutory media restrictions, it remains subject of the UK Advertising Codes.

What is included within the brand advertising exemption?

The Brand Advertising Exemption Regulations exempt advertisements for an identifiable product from the advertising restrictions if it promotes a brand, or the brand of a range of products, provided it does not:

• depict a specific HFSS product;
• promote a brand sharing the name of a specific HFSS product; or
• include a realistic image of a HFSS product itself which is visually indistinguishable from a specific HFSS product.

“Depict” here means to represent by way of name, text, imagery, logo, audio cue, jingle, brand character or other branding technique or combination thereof. 

Part 7 of the Guidance provides useful direction as to the types of imagery, brand techniques and general approaches taken by advertisers operating in the HFSS space which would likely fall foul of the advertising restrictions and would not qualify for the brand exemption. 

Recent developments

Since the restrictions came into force, there have been a number of notable developments, including the ASA's first enforcement actions under the new rules and a Government consultation proposing to expand the scope of products caught by the restrictions.

The ASA has already begun actively enforcing the new rules, upholding complaints against two supermarkets in respect of paid online advertisements featuring identifiable "less healthy" products in breach of CAP Code rule 15.19. The rulings concerned banner and display advertisements featuring HFSS confectionery items, as well as a social media post promoting a product classified as HFSS under the morning goods category. Notably, the ASA confirmed that even a single identifiable less healthy product featured in an advertisement is sufficient to constitute a breach of the restrictions.

Consultation on applying the new nutrient profiling model (NPM)

In addition to the advertising restrictions outlined above, the scope of products caught by the new rules may soon be expanded. On 26 March 2026, the Government launched a new consultation and press release looking at proposals to apply the new NPM to the restrictions. The new NPM, although not yet applied to policy, is used to classify foods and drinks based on their nutritional composition. If applied to the restrictions, it will bring products that are higher in free sugars (sugar added to foods plus those naturally present in foods such as unsweetened fruit juice, syrups and honey) into scope, such as yogurts and cereal bars. The consultation also proposes a 12-month implementation period to allow businesses time to adapt to the changes.

The consultation encourages all stakeholders to provide their input on these proposals by 17 June 2026.

Things to look out for if you are a HFSS brand

Recent Easter marketing campaigns represented the first major seasonal advertising period since the restrictions came into force, and served as an important test case for how brands navigate the new rules in practice – shifting the focus of campaigns away from confectionary and into other Easter-related products. However, it is also important to note that the ASA has been enforcing rules limiting the potential for HFSS product advertising since 2007. The HFSS advertising rules will therefore form a new and additional tier of restrictions strengthening the existing restrictions on HFSS ads. HFSS brands and retailers should continue to review new and existing advertising campaigns and sponsorship deals to ensure marketing practices are aligned with the new restrictions.

If you have any questions relating to these new rules, then our advertising and consumer law experts will be happy to help.