{"id":67617,"date":"2023-12-21T10:30:39","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T10:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grocerygazette.co.uk\/?p=67617"},"modified":"2023-12-21T10:31:06","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T10:31:06","slug":"hfss-restrictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grocerygazette.co.uk\/2023\/12\/21\/hfss-restrictions\/","title":{"rendered":"Best of 2023: Have HFSS restrictions made any difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Last October, the government changed the grocery landscape by introducing a ban on high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) products<\/a> from key supermarket and convenience store locations.<\/span><\/p>\n From crisps and chocolate to cereal and snack bars, any items deemed ‘unhealthy’ have been banished from the prime grocery store real estate of store entrances, gondola ends and checkouts in a bid to steer shoppers towards healthier alternatives and limit England’s obesity levels.<\/span><\/p>\n But has the new legislation had any impact so far?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Data provided to Grocery Gazette by insights experts Reapp<\/a> shows that HFSS crisp sales in British supermarkets have actually surged 17% in the first six months of the ban’s introduction.<\/span><\/p>\n This suggests that shoppers have simply switched how they shop and are hunting for snacks typically found at checkouts and gondola ends in aisles.<\/span><\/p>\n Krispy Kreme CEO Mike Tattersfield believes that shoppers can be<\/span> \u201ctrained\u201d to look for products elsewhere<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n He told the Financial Times in May: \u201cWhenever you have regulations that kick in, customers still continue to look for what we do,\u201d he says. “I don\u2019t see the world changing to kale cake for their break every single day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say that the restrictions have had no impact.<\/span><\/p>\n HFSS-compliant doughnut brand Urban Legend’s co-founder, Anthony Fletcher – who was previously CEO of Graze.com, – says that the regulations are working as they have forced producers to make their products healthier.<\/span><\/p>\n With products deemed ‘unhealthy’ banned from prime store locations, many of the world’s leading food and drink manufacturers were quick to<\/span> reformulate<\/span><\/a> their products in order to remain in key spots.<\/span><\/p>\n Fletcher says: “One thing you can’t deny is that major manufacturers who have made significant changes to their products and become compliant look like they have benefitted versus their competitors.<\/span><\/p>\n “It isn’t just about changing consumer behaviour, it is also demonstrating that you can remove the sugar and fat from products and incentivise people to do that.”<\/span><\/p>\n PepsiCo crisp brand Walkers is one of the leading players looking to boost snack sales from selling healthier alternatives. It is striving to reduce the levels of fat, salt and sugar in its portfolio, with<\/span> 30% of sales are now from healthier snacks<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n However, Reapp\u2019s data shows that sales of healthier crisp alternatives were down 12% in the six months to April 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n A big driver for the behaviour could be the squeeze on budgets as the average price for healthier crisps is 18p higher than the HFSS version at \u00a31.69 per unit, according to Reapp.<\/span><\/p>\n This trend is not replicated across all categories with non-HFSS cereal volume sales up 33.67% due to the reformulation of many customer favourites, according to Reapp.<\/span><\/p>\n Fletcher says the legislation has brought new opportunities for healthier brands.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nAs 2023 draws to a close, we look back at Grocery Gazette\u2019s best bits. Today, we look back at our investigation over the summer into what impact HFSS restrictions have really had.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nMaking healthier products<\/h3>\n