HFSS isn’t killing marketing. It’s just killing lazy marketing.

The very short version (because everyone’s busy)

If you only read one section, make it this.

HFSS ban means you can’t:

• Advertise HFSS products on TV before 9pm

• Run paid ads that directly promote HFSS products

• Pay or gift influencers to show or sell HFSS products

• Boost organic posts that heavily feature HFSS products

But you still can...

• Advertise your brand

• Post organically on social

• Work with influencers on brand-led content

• Talk about values, culture, humour, lifestyle and experiences

• Promote compliant products/menu items

So no, marketing hasn’t been banned. Product-first digital advertising has.

What counts as an HFSS product (at a glance) 

HFSS stands for high in fat, salt, and sugar.

The classification is based on an official Government led scoring system that takes a big-picture view of nutrition. It considers less healthy elements alongside beneficial ones, rather than judging products on a single ingredient.

So… how do brands actually know if something is HFSS?

Big FMCG brands usually already know where their products sit because: 

• They have nutritional data to hand

• They’ve assessed products as part of reformulation or labelling

• HFSS has been on their radar for a while

For them, it’s less about finding out and more about planning around it.

What about menus, food-to-go and hospitality brands?

This is where it can feel a bit murkier.

For menu items, the same principles apply - but the assessment is based on:

• The ingredients used

• Portion size

• Preparation method

If you already publish calorie or nutritional information, you may be able to work this out internally or with supplier support. If not, it’s often a case of taking a sensible, cautious view rather than aiming for total precision.

What HFSS is really doing?

HFSS doesn’t remove brands from culture. It removes the easiest way of showing up. For years, social and digital performance leaned heavily on product shots and price flash offers thinking. HFSS cuts that off overnight for certain products.

What’s left? Brand thinking. Creativity. Actual ideas. Which is why this feels painful for some brands and… oddly fine for others.

Why some brands will struggle (and others won’t)

Brands that are feeling the squeeze tend to have one thing in common - their marketing only really worked when the product was front and centre.

On the flip side, brands that are adapting quickly already have a recognisable tone of voice, can tell stories without showing the product, use social to entertain, not just sell and lastly, treat influencers as creators, not billboards

Influencers still work - it’s the approach that needs updating

Influencer marketing is still very much allowed. What’s changed is how brands use it. If content is paid, gifted, or incentivised, it’s classed as advertising - which means influencers can’t directly show or promote HFSS products. That’s where the confusion (and panic) kicks in.

But influencers can still:

• Create lifestyle-led content

• Talk about experiences, routines and moments

• Bring brand worlds to life without holding the product up to camera

The brands who will do this well wont ask creators to ‘work around the rules’ - they will provide clearer, more creative briefs in the first place.

Organic social - still open, just more intentional

Organic social hasn’t gone anywhere - but it needs a rethink.

Think less:

• Product catalogue

• Endless close-ups

• ‘We’ll boost it later’

Think more:

• Personality

• Humour

• Community

• Cultural moments

• The stuff people actually choose to watch

Organic social now works best as a brand-building space, not a sales shelf.

A simple sense-check before you hit publish

If you’re unsure whether something’s safe, ask yourself:

1. Is this paid, gifted or incentivised in any way?

2. Are we clearly showing or selling an HFSS product? - If you’re not sure, that’s usually a sign the line is getting blurry. Close-up product shots, consumption moments, pricing or promotional language are all stronger indicators than subtle brand cues.

3. Could this reasonably appeal to under 18’s

If it feels messy answering those, the idea probably needs refining - not binning.