Can I still advertise my brand if it sells HFSS products?

Written By Kitty Newman

In the lead-up to new ‘less healthy food or drink’ laws coming into force in the UK in October 2025, one of the biggest questions for hospitality or retail businesses who sell HFSS (High in Fat, Salt, or Sugar) products has been: can you still run ads for your brand, so long as they don’t directly feature or reference HFSS food/drink?

This concept is called ‘pure brand advertising’. A classic example is McDonald’s using their highly-recognisable ‘golden arches’ logo for their ads, with nary a burger in sight.

It’s an area which has sparked some confusion. Initially, the government said:

“The legislation only restricts adverts that could reasonably be considered to be for identifiable less healthy products.”

This suggested brand-led ads were safe, as long as they avoided product imagery.

But then came the update…

In April 2025, a Ministerial statement clarified that pure brand advertising is out of scope, meaning it may be allowed — but the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) is reviewing this.

Advice for now:

  • Avoid showing specific HFSS products (until we have more certainty)

  • Watch for ASA guidance updates

  • Come to our panel events to hear how the experts interpret these aspects of the laws

Kitty Newman

Kitty is the founder and director of Trapeze Media. An award-winning digital and social media expert, she’s worked with some of the UK’s largest hospitality and hotel brands, assembling strong teams and leading successful campaigns at a local, national, and international scale. Kitty regularly delivers energetic talks on the digital marketing industry, as well as the people behind it, always championing a healthier, happier approach to agency management. The ‘Trapeze’ in ‘Trapeze Media’ stems from Kitty’s love for circus performance. If you want to increase your ROI and/or learn how to do a handstand, you’ve come to the right place.

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