Last summer, the government announced that regulations restricting the advertising and promotion of HFSS (High in Fat, Salt or Sugar) foods would come into force from January 2023.
The new advertising rules, primarily concerned with pre-watershed (9pm) TV advertising and paid-for online ads, will now be held off at least January 2024.
Further rules governing ‘multi-buy’ deals – such as buy-one-get-one-free or BOGOF – which were due to come into effect in October this year have also been pushed back by 12 months, affecting carefully-laid plans which had been made across all areas of the grocery sector.
The government’s reasoning behind delaying the advertising ban has been vague, although it has suggested that its decision was linked to the cost-of-living crisis currently gripping the nation.
