{"id":11405,"date":"2022-08-18T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rangeme.com\/blog\/?p=11405"},"modified":"2022-08-26T07:56:54","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T15:56:54","slug":"decoding-upcoming-hfss-regulations-in-the-u-k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rangeme.com\/blog\/decoding-upcoming-hfss-regulations-in-the-u-k\/","title":{"rendered":"Decoding Upcoming HFSS Regulations in the U.K."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two for the price of one? Who can resist?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumers in England and Wales will soon be forced to resist, at least to some degree, with new legislation around food merchandising, starting in the coming months. The new rules will affect foods high in fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS) and are designed to thrust them less under the eye of shoppers and to not proffer them through special offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, part of the new regulations have recently been pushed back. Here\u2019s what we can expect to see:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

October 2022:<\/strong> Retailers will no longer be allowed to place non-compliant foods (HFSS foods) in the most prominent places in their stores \u2014 such as endcaps and at checkouts \u2014 to boost sales. Small stores and specialty stores are exempt.<\/p>\n\n\n

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January 2024:<\/strong> It\u2019s anticipated that retailers will no longer be allowed to offer Buy One, Get One offers and multi-buy deals on HFSS products. Commercials of these products will also be banned before 9 p.m. on TV; there will be a complete ban of paid-for advertisements for HFSS products online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis has the potential to be quite impactful given that products are put in those places for their sales impact,\u201d says James Anstead, MD, European Retail Equity Research with Barclays, London, \u201cand it\u2019s hard to believe there wouldn\u2019t be some kind of negative impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Affected product categories<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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The product categories that will be most affected by the new regulations, in addition to chips, sweets, and breakfast cereals, include drinks, ice cream, dairy desserts, and sandwiches, says Mark Wijne, research director at the Access to Nutrition Initiative, in Utrecht in the Netherlands. Each item will be assessed using a \u2018Nutrient Profile Score,\u2019 and will receive negative points for calorie density, saturated fat, sugar, sodium, and positive points for protein, fiber, fruit, vegetables, and nuts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rules, Wijne says, \u201care a necessary step toward helping to create a food environment that is more conducive to helping consumers make healthier choices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Affecting manufacturers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The fallout from this, Anstead believes, will be manufacturers reformulating products to contain less fat, salt, and sugar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, this is already happening. Mars U.K. has introduced a new HFSS-compliant Triple Treat line; Weetabix has teamed up with Lyle\u2019s Golden Syrup to launch a new HFSS-compliant cereal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n