'99% of adspend unaffected by new fatty restrictions'

The new restrictions on the advertising of less healthy food to children may end up as a “paper tiger”, with as little as 1% of adspend affected by the policy once expected shifts to unregulated channels are taken into account.

That is according to a new analysis by research and innovation foundation Nesta, which claims that long delays, changes in the advertising landscape and industry lobbying have weakened the policy and left more holes than in a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Total food and drink adspend in the UK in 2024 was approximately £2.4bn but Nesta’s analysis, which examined adspend and digital exposure, found that currently only 8% (£190m) of industry adspend is covered by the regulations.

As companies adapt and adspend is shifted to other unregulated paid-for channels and from product to brand advertising, this could drop to just to 1% (£20m) – leaving 99% of adspend to continue unchecked.

The UK Government introduced the regulations on January 5 2026, although major players in the industry started adhering to a voluntary code back in November.

The measures ban paid online ads and pre-9pm TV ads for products high in fat, salt and sugar within 13 specific food groups including crisps, sweet biscuits and ready meals.

The policy aims to tackle childhood obesity by protecting children from excessive and targeted “junk food” marketing.

However, Nesta’s analysis reveals the scale and impact of the gaps that will potentially weaken its impact, including exemptions for brand and range advertising; the narrow scope of food and drink categories included; a focus on paid-for advertising only that excludes advertisers’ own social media accounts and websites, and direct digital marketing; a focus on TV and online advertising that excludes outdoor advertising.

The organisation maintains that the advertising landscape has shifted since the regulations were first proposed almost a decade ago. TV ad spending, which is covered by the ban, has dropped 40% in real terms between 2004 and 2024 – 21% of this was from 2018 when the restrictions were first announced.

However, outdoor advertising has more than tripled after adjusting for inflation since 2004 and increased by 59% since regulations were announced in 2018, leaving consumers exposed to channels that are not covered by the current legislation.

Following industry lobbying, the recent restrictions also do not cover owned-media channels which are controlled directly by companies, such as their own websites, social media accounts and direct marketing emails.

Nesta argues that these channels leave children and disadvantaged groups at higher risk of being exposed to unhealthy food advertising as its analysis revealed that direct messages from less healthy brands were more common in the most deprived areas (65%) than in the least deprived areas (45%).

Messages were also more likely to feature less healthy food in the most deprived areas (36%) than the least deprived areas (28%). Meanwhile, the proportion of messages received from less healthy brands is highest among adults under 35 years old and declines steadily with age.

The report also highlights how the legislation misses popular food choices as well as advertising for brands and product ranges. The legislation includes just 13 food and drink categories, but this misses many items which are generally considered unhealthy such as chocolate spread and toffee covered nuts. More than half (60%) of consumer spending on foods high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) falls outside of the 13 categories included in the legislation.

Following industry pressure, a brand and range exemption was included in the legislation. The 36% of food and drink advertising spend (£824m) which is already brand-focused is exempt from the restrictions. In addition, product range advertising such as the Dairy Milk Buttons range, or McDonald’s Happy Meals, is still permitted.

Nesta argues that closing these loopholes would strengthen the impact of existing restrictions by limiting companies’ ability to shift spending into exempt channels or formats, and encourage greater promotion of healthier food and drink. It estimates this could lead to the total UK adspend that is in scope of the regulations rising to around 33%.

The organisation is urging ministers not to make the same mistake with the healthy food standard, which requires large food businesses to meet mandatory targets for the proportion of healthy products they sell. This policy, announced as part of the Government’s 10-Year-Plan last year, has the potential to help 3 million people achieve a healthier weight and needs to be implemented in full as quickly as possible.

Nesta director of healthy life mission John Barber said: “This policy was first announced eight years ago and in that time there have been eight consultations and four delays. Partly due to pressure from the industry, these delays and adjustments mean that the restrictions intended to keep us healthy are operating at a fraction of their potential. The policy is at risk of being a paper tiger.

“While governments must rightly balance the needs of the public and business, the current restrictions appear to strongly favour the latter. Advertising has a huge role to play in the food we see day-to-day and ultimately shaping the choices we make. To cut the UK’s obesity rates, we need to change how food is marketed to us.

“The government should look to amend the loopholes in the restrictions, taking care to include popular foods and common advertising tactics so that the legislation can do what it was designed to do – helping us to make healthier choices.

“Most importantly though, the Government should learn from this to ensure that the recently announced healthy food standard is implemented as quickly and impactfully as possible, keeping consumers’ best interests at heart.”