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How to check your promotions and shelf placement against Scotland's HFSS rules

Scotland's HFSS promotion and placement rules have applied since 1 October 2026. This is a six-step check you can run on your range, your trade deals and your online listings this week.

By Pasi Sipilä, founder of Ziild · 14 October 2026

In short

Scotland's HFSS rules have been in force since 1 October 2026. If a retailer with 50+ employees sells your pre-packed product in a listed category that fails the nutrient profiling test, multibuys are banned and the product cannot sit in key locations in stores of 185.8 m² or more, or in the online equivalents.

Meal deals, temporary price cuts and alcohol promotions are still allowed.

What changed, and when

Scotland's Food (Promotion and Placement) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 came into force on 1 October 2026. This is not a deadline to prepare for. It has passed.

England got there first. Placement rules started on 1 October 2022 and the multibuy rules, delayed twice, started on 1 October 2025. Wales's regulations came into force on 26 March 2026.

Scotland dropped some of its original plans. In June 2025 the Scottish Government removed temporary price reductions, meal deals and free-standing displays from the restrictions.

This is a summary, not legal advice.

Step 1: Check whether the retailer is in scope

The legal duty sits with the retailer. But it is your trade promotions and display deals that get blocked, so you need to know which of your customers are caught.

A qualifying business offers in-scope food to consumers, in store or online, and has 50 or more employees. The same 50-employee test applies in England.

Symbol groups count as one whole business, not store by store, according to the ACS. A small symbol store can still be caught.

Restaurants, cafés and takeaways are excluded, except for the free-refill rule on sugary soft drinks.

List every Scottish retail customer and mark whether it has 50+ employees.
Treat symbol-group stores as part of the group.
Note any foodservice customers offering free refills of sugary soft drinks.

Step 2: Score each product, not each range

A product is caught only if it passes all three tests in the Scottish Government's guidance.

Score every SKU separately. One recipe change can move one product in or out.

Alcohol promotions are not affected by these rules.

It is pre-packed. Loose bakery items and food prepacked for direct sale, such as a pizza made and packed in store, are out.
It is in a listed category: soft drinks with added sugar, confectionery, biscuits, cakes, ice cream, savoury snacks, breakfast cereals, sweetened dairy, pizzas and ready meals.
It fails the 2004/05 Nutrient Profiling Model. The ACS's England guidance gives pass marks of under 4 for food and under 1 for drinks. The Scottish guidance's own worked example treats a drink scoring 1 or more as HFSS.

Step 3: Check your deals

The deal rules apply at any store size. Store size only matters for placement.

Mixed offers need care. The Scottish Government's own example: a 2-for-1 across plain water and sugary drinks scoring 1 or more is not permitted. One HFSS product in the offer is enough to break the rule.

Meal deals are exempt as a relevant special offer. But the HFSS items in a meal deal still cannot sit in restricted locations.

Banned on in-scope products: buy-one-get-one-free, 3 for 2, 3 for £10, 50% extra free, and "buy 6, save 25%" (ACS).
Still allowed: temporary price reductions, such as 20% off for a set period.
Still allowed: meal deals and "dine in for 2" offers.
Not affected: alcohol promotions.
Action: pull your Scottish promotional calendar and strike any volume-price mechanic on an in-scope SKU.

Step 4: Check in-store and online placement

Placement rules apply in stores with at least 185.8 m² (2,000 sq ft) of relevant floor area. Storerooms and medical consultation rooms do not count towards that area. Specialist shops that mainly sell one category, such as chocolatiers and cake shops, are exempt.

In those stores, in-scope products cannot go at store entrances, checkouts and designated queuing areas, aisle ends, or covered external areas. The ACS says the checkout zone is within 2m of checkouts and queuing areas.

Free-standing display units are not restricted in themselves in Scotland. That was dropped in June 2025.

Online, the rules cover the equivalent key locations. The Scottish guidance gives the principle. For the detail, the ACS's England guidance is the closest working reference: on a home page, an in-scope product may only appear as a signpost to its category, with no "add to basket" button and no more prominence than other signposts.

Check any paid gondola-end or checkout listings in Scottish stores of 185.8 m² or more.
Check meal-deal HFSS items are not in restricted locations.
Ask online retailers where your in-scope products appear on home, basket and checkout pages.
Do not confuse this with the UK-wide advertising rules from 5 January 2026. Those apply to businesses with 250+ employees that pay to advertise. The Scottish placement rules apply at 50+.

Step 5: Know the enforcement risk and the differences

In Scotland, failing to comply is an offence. The ACS describes the difference this way: in England, Trading Standards can issue compliance or improvement notices first. In Scotland, a breach "will result in a fine of up to £2,500".

The core rules now line up. All three nations restrict multibuys and placement, and England and Scotland share the 50-employee and 185.8 m² tests. If your range is compliant in England, the Scottish check is mostly about Scottish customers, Scottish store lists and the stricter enforcement.

Read the regulations and the full gov.scot guidance before you sign off. This is a summary, not legal advice.

Scotland: placement and multibuy rules from 1 October 2026.
England: placement from 1 October 2022, multibuys from 1 October 2025.
Wales: regulations in force from 26 March 2026.
Meal deals and temporary price cuts: allowed in Scotland and England.

Questions people ask

Do Scotland's HFSS rules apply to wine, beer and spirits?

Alcohol promotions are not affected, according to the Scottish Government. Check any bundle that adds an in-scope product, such as a sugary soft drink, because one HFSS item can break a multibuy.

Are meal deals banned in Scotland?

No. Meal deals and "dine in for 2" offers are exempt. The HFSS items in them still cannot sit in restricted locations in larger stores.

Do small shops have to follow the rules?

Deal rules apply to businesses with 50+ employees at any store size. Placement rules apply only in stores with 185.8 m² or more of relevant floor area. Symbol groups count as one business.

Are temporary price reductions still allowed?

Yes. The Scottish Government dropped temporary price reductions from the rules in June 2025. A set-period discount such as 20% off is still allowed.

What happens if a retailer breaks the rules?

Failing to comply is an offence in Scotland. The ACS says a breach will result in a fine of up to £2,500, while England allows improvement notices first.

Sources

Written by the Ziild machine from the sources above and approved by Pasi before publishing. Spotted an error? pasi@ziild.co.uk