New UK Unhealthy Eating Laws: What They Mean for Small Businesses (and Your Social Media)

You may have seen headlines about new ‘unhealthy eating’ laws coming to the UK on the 5th January and if you’re a small business owner or brand that uses social media to grow, you may be wondering: How does this affect me?

The good news? While the changes are important, they don’t mean the end of food marketing, they just mean smarter, more thoughtful strategies.

Let’s break it down.

Food is fun!

What Are the New Unhealthy Eating Laws?

The UK government is introducing stricter rules around how HFSS products (foods and drinks high in fat, sugar or salt) can be advertised. These changes are part of a wider effort to tackle childhood obesity and encourage healthier choices.

They include:

• TV and On-Demand: advertising will be banned from 5:30am - 9pm

• Paid online ads will be banned (with an exception, see below)

  
  

This means platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Google Ads will be affected particularly when ads are targeted at broad or under-18 audiences.

Who Does This Affect?

If your business sells or promotes:

• Takeaways

• Restaurants

• Cafés

• Bakeries

• Snack brands

• Drinks brands

• Food delivery services

…then these rules could apply to you, especially if your products fall under the HFSS classification.

For small businesses, this feels daunting many rely heavily on paid social ads to compete with bigger brands. But there’s an important distinction to understand.

What Isn’t Banned?

This is where there’s often confusion.

You can still:

• Post organic content on your social media channels

• Share menus, behind-the-scenes content and brand stories

• Promote healthier options

• Market to adults where targeting is compliant

• Build your brand through community, content and engagement

In other words, social media marketing isn’t going anywhere, it is shifting away from heavily paid, product-focused ads.

SME’s (business’s under 250 employees) are exempt from the online-paid and TV advertising rule providing their advertising doesn’t depict specific less healthy products beyond branding.

What This Means for Small Businesses

Keeping your socials open

These changes encourage brands to move away from ‘hard sell’ advertising and toward brand-led marketing, which is actually where small businesses often shine.

Now is the time to:

• Invest in storytelling (your people, your values, your journey)

• Build a loyal community through organic social content

• Highlight quality, sourcing, experience and customer connection

• Work with creators and influencers (where compliant)

• Get creative with campaigns that aren’t all solely product-led

For many small businesses, this could level the playing field. Big brands rely heavily on large ad budgets, smaller brands rely on authenticity, personality and connection.

How a Social Media Agency Can Help

Navigating these changes doesn’t have to be stressful. A good social media strategy can:

• Ensure your content stays compliant

• Shift focus from ads to engagement-led growth

• Build long-term visibility without relying solely on paid promotion

• Help you stand out in more creative, human ways

The brands that adapt early will be the ones that benefit most.

Final Thoughts

The new unhealthy eating laws aren’t stopping businesses from marketing. We just need to focus on changing how marketing works.

For small businesses, this is an opportunity to:

• Strengthen your brand

• Build trust with your audience

• Create content people want to engage with

  
  

If you’re not sure where to start? That’s exactly where a social media marketing agency like The Social Byrd can step in and help you turn regulation into opportunity.