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Scotland Just Put Junk Food on the Naughty Step

1h ago · 6 sources · regulation

From 1 October 2026, Scotland is turning up the heat on HFSS. Products high in fat, sugar or salt will lose checkout spots, aisle ends, store entrances and multibuy deals in larger stores. The rules hit businesses with 50 or more employees selling pre-packed food in stores over 2,000 sq ft, plus online.

If England is the dress rehearsal, Scotland knows what is coming. Before England’s restrictions kicked in, Kantar pegged impacted products at roughly £18bn in annual UK sales, about 16% of the market. University of Leeds research looking at 480 stores and 11.6 billion product sales found the placement rules were linked to around two million fewer HFSS items sold per day over a 30-month period.

That is not a rounding error. That is volume.

For manufacturers, reformulation is no longer a nice-to-have. It is a commercial survival strategy. And it lands at a time when the wider regulatory pile-on is already costing the industry around £2 billion in 2025, thanks to EPR, packaging taxes, levies and more.

The real shift here is strategic. HFSS is no longer a compliance issue sitting with technical teams. It is a growth question. Lose promotional space and you lose velocity. Keep the space and you probably need a new recipe. The brands that move fastest on reformulation will not just dodge restrictions. They will own the shelf that is suddenly up for grabs.

Key facts

  • Scotland’s HFSS regulations come into force on 1 October 2026, restricting promotions and prime shelf placement for products high in fat, sugar or salt across larger retail stores.
  • HFSS products will no longer be allowed in prominent store locations such as checkouts, aisle ends, store entrances and queuing areas, and multibuy promotions such as ‘buy one get one free’ and ‘3 for 2’ will be restricted.
  • The regulations apply to businesses with 50 or more employees selling pre-packed food in stores larger than 2,000 sq ft, as well as online retail environments.
  • Before England introduced its HFSS placement restrictions in 2022, Kantar estimated affected products represented roughly £18bn in annual UK food and drink sales, around 16% of the market at the time.
  • Research published in 2025 by the University of Leeds found HFSS placement restrictions in England were linked to around two million fewer in-scope HFSS products being sold per day, analysing 11.6 billion product sales across 480 supermarket stores over a 30-month period.
  • The cumulative pressures from policies including EPR, the plastic packaging tax, the soft drinks levy and HFSS restrictions are estimated to be costing the UK food and drink industry around £2 billion in 2025.
  • 1 October 2026
  • £18bn
  • 16%
  • two million
  • 11.6 billion
  • 480
  • 30-month
  • 50

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