HFSS legislation to change supermarkets

UK supermarkets will change once the proposed HFSS (high, fat, sugar and salt) legislation comes into force, as the positioning of certain goods within stores will move to comply with the legislation, set to be introduced in October 2022. The goods include sugary and salty snacks, fizzy drinks and junk food. The legislation will apply to both in-store and eCommerce goods.

In a bid to promote a healthy lifestyle and tackle the UK’s obesity crisis, the law will change how sweet and salty food will be advertised and positioning in supermarkets. A change to the rules concerning BOGOFs (Buy One Get One Free) and 50% deals will follow in October 2023.

Advice given by packaging company Smurfit Kappa suggests using smart packaging solutions – such as their Shelf Smart merchandising service, allowing companies to compare how their goods fare against competitors. Offering a 3D store visualiser means a virtual shopping environment can be created to see how the product appears against competitors.

Packaging needs to be “retail-ready”, easy to identify, meaning easy to find, easy to open, to identify and to dispose of responsibly once it’s no longer needed. This will require using unique and fresh designs, the company says, which can be achieved using various printing techniques such as flexo, litho and preprint.

Some research shows 64% of consumers will only buy products when wrapped in sustainable packaging, impacting on both online and in-store products. The importance of environmentally-friendly packaging has only grown, and businesses shouldn’t risk “alienating” themselves from two-thirds of the market, Smurfit Kappa say.

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Media contact

Caitlin Gittins
Editor, International Confectionery
Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 920
Email: editor@in-confectionery.com

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