How to promote ‘less healthy food’ (LHF products) in 2026: On 5 January the Government banned unhealthy food – at least from our screens – which has implications not only for Prizeology, but for brands.
So, what’s changed? Well, new rules prohibit ads for ‘identifiable’ less healthy food and drink products (known as LHFs) from appearing on TV and on-demand services between 5:30am and 9pm, or in paid online media at any time.
They add restrictions to the pre-existing HFSS (high fat/salt/sugar) food advertising rules, which prevent the promotion of this type of food in advertising targeted at under 16s. The move is designed to support the Government’s efforts to reduce children’s exposure to advertising for less healthy food and drink, and tackle child obesity.
What makes an item an LHF? Food products defined by a nutrient profile rating, which is calculated from the content of 100g of a food or drink. The fibre, protein, sodium and other components are analysed to give it an overall score that determines whether it’s an LHF or not. However, beware because some products that you might think of as healthy, such as yoghurts or granolas, may not have a good enough nutrient profile rating.
Restrictions on TV ads
A key word here, though, is ‘identifiable’, because if a product is an LHF and the average UK consumer is likely to recognise it, then the new regulations restrict when it’s promoted. Should food companies be concerned? In short, no! However, they do need to rethink their approach.
Brands can still advertise in pre-9pm TV slots, so long as there is no direct link to HFSS or LHF products, including characters associated with products. For example, food companies such as McDonald’s and Cadbury can still run ads before the watershed if no images of food products are used.
This has already resulted in an increasing focus on narrative journey, brand atmosphere or how the food is produced. From October 2025, during the voluntary compliance period for the new LHF rules, Christmas ads clearly exhibited this shift. Changes included a general focus on fruit and vegetables in the offerings from Lidl and Asda, as well as a Morrisons ad which featured its employees and customer community in a festive context.
Noticeably, Waitrose’s Christmas romcom advert, in which Keira Knightly received a home-baked pie from Joe Wilkinson, demonstrated the crucial distinction between brand advertising and product promotion. The home-baked nature of the pie meant that the advert did not directly endorse the purchase of a particular LHF product, but instead emphasised the qualities or culture of Waitrose as a brand. Turns out that was a clever move in line with the regulations, rather than simply a festive choice!
Arguably, the new rules force brands to be more experimental and produce ads that go beyond directly pushing LHF products. The route by which they expose the public, specifically children, to existing and new LHF products must be creative and must be conscious.
That thoughtfulness is crucial and the ASA has made it clear: compliance is ultimately the advertisers’ responsibility, particularly in the world of online creators and brand partnerships, where understanding is often lacking and can lead to critical rulings by the ASA that could potentially be damaging for businesses.
Controlling online content
The original HFSS rules came into force in 2022, yet Cancer Research UK’s 2025 Digital Influence study revealed that 52% of 11 to 21-year-old social media users reported seeing posts from both businesses and influencers advertising HFSS products, suggesting that online was an area that required regulatory attention.
As the market for paid collaborations with influencers has developed, the regulations have had to play catch-up to reduce children’s exposure to less healthy foods, but LHF products are now prohibited from online content at all times, including display ads, paid social posts, influencer marketing, native ads, and programmatic and paid placements.
Now what counts as payment you may ask? ‘Paid content’ under ASA regulations extends beyond monetary payments and affiliate commissions. Any other incentive, including free products and gifted tickets to events, are deemed to be ‘compensation’, too.
Again, this only applies to advertisements directly promoting LHF products and brands are free to promote themselves as much as they like, as long as the content is not intrinsically linked to LHFs and do not visually depict them.
However, there are still ways to get those products out there! Firstly, promotions on a brand’s own channel and unpaid organic content are still allowed. Secondly, like televised ads, a pivot towards curated brand experiences and utilisation of other media channels offers opportunities for exposure that can be just as successful as pre-LHF regulation initiatives.
Where does Prizeology come in?
With the new limitations on Less Healthy Food / LHF products TV advertising and prohibitions on online content, prize promotions are an excellent way to publicise an existing range or a new product. On-pack and in-store promotions can pull eyes to the shelves, actively reminding or introducing the public to the products your brand has to offer.
Prize promotions increase consumer engagement by making long-lasting impressions and creating positive associations for your brand. The new regulations mean companies must think again about LHF advertising. Pivoting to prize promotions makes sense and could be the answer.
You can trust Prizeology to run a fair and engaging promotion that’s compliant with the new Less Healthy Food LHF products / LHF regulations and the ASA’s CAP Code. To get in touch, just give us a call on 020 7856 0402 or drop us a line on hello@prizeology.com.
Prizeology and The Prizeologist Blog, 2026. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.
