Where you can (and can’t) advertise less healthy foods in 2025

Written By Kitty Newman

The new ‘less healthy food or drink’ ad bans affect far more than just Facebook campaigns!

From Deliveroo to YouTube to influencer shoutouts, paid online promotions of HFSS (High in Fat, Salt, or Sugar) products are about to become illegal in the UK.

What’s off-limits?

As of October 2025, any paid digital ad for an HFSS product will be banned. That includes:

  • Paid social (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Snapchat)

  • Google Search and Display Ads

  • YouTube pre-rolls

  • Paid influencer posts

  • Paid product placements in apps like Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat

What’s still allowed?

  • Organic social media posts

  • User-generated content (if unpaid)

  • Out-of-home advertising (bus stops, billboards)

  • Audio-only ads (e.g. radio, podcasts)

What about influencers?

Paid partnerships will be subject to the ban if they promote an HFSS product. Gifting without payment is still a legal grey area. Final guidance is expected soon.

What you should do next:

  • Audit your ad accounts and all the places you’re running paid promotions

  • Rethink your influencer contracts and disclosures

  • Create robust organic content strategies

  • Join us at one of our ‘less healthy food’-focused panel discussions and Q&As!

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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