Scottish retailers on notice as new food promotion and placement regulations come into force

Zoe Betts and Fiona Cameron of Pinsent Masons were commenting as the Food (Promotion and Placement) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 came into force. The regulations are designed to encourage healthier consumer choices by limiting where and how certain prepacked foods and drinks high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) can be displayed and promoted in stores.

The new rules mirror restrictions that have already been implemented in England, where placement restrictions have been in force since October 2022 and restrictions on price or multi-buy promotions came into force on 1 October 2025. Similar provisions are also in place in Wales.  A consultation on restricting the promotion and placement of HFSS foods is currently underway in Northern Ireland.

The new Scottish restrictions on targeted food and drink categories will affect a range of products, including confectionery, cakes, crisps and soft drinks with added sugar. However, the new rules will only apply to pre-packed HFSS food and drink products.  

The restrictions apply to qualifying businesses including retail, wholesale outlets where there are also sales to the public, and other outlets, such as clothes shops, which sell targeted HFSS food.

Betts said: “Retailers should not assume that compliance with existing restrictions elsewhere in the UK automatically means they have nothing further to do in Scotland. Businesses need to ensure they understand which products fall within scope and review how those products are promoted and displayed in stores.”

“The regulations have been designed to support public health objectives by reducing the visibility and promotion of less healthy products. For retailers, however, they introduce a range of operational and compliance considerations that need to be carefully managed,” she said.

Whether a product is considered “less healthy” is determined using the Nutrient Profiling Model 2004/2005 (NPM), a scoring system that assesses the nutritional composition of products.

The UK government recently consulted on applying a revised nutrient profiling model to advertising restrictions and to promotion restrictions, with industry now awaiting its response. Any further move to adopt an updated model could affect which products are caught by the restrictions. Any change to the model used in promotions restrictions will be applicable in England only, unless the devolved nations decide to do likewise.

Betts said: “Businesses generally favour regulatory consistency across the UK. If different approaches emerge regarding how products are assessed, that could create additional compliance burdens and increase complexity for retailers managing product portfolios across multiple jurisdictions.”

The Scottish regulations form part of broader efforts by governments across the UK to tackle obesity and improve public health outcomes.