Less Healthy Food

Paid-for online ads for ‘less healthy’ food (LHF) and drink products are being voluntarily restricted from 1st October 2025.

From 5 January 2026, paid-for online ads for ‘less healthy’ HFSS (high fat, salt, or sugar) products will be banned by law. 

For marketers (especially for young brands with limited legacy or distinctive brand assets), this creates a clear challenge: how to keep campaigns effective when the traditional backbone of product-led creative is taken away.

Azerion, with its in-house creative studio and Omnichannel campaign expertise, undertook in-depth research across 3 LHF product variants each with 4 different creative approaches to help brands understand which compliant creative strategies can deliver results.

The research also showcased the role of explicit product cues in safeguarding clarity, and the surprising ways compliance itself can enhance consumer trust.