THE HFSS ADVERTISING BAN: WHY CHALLENGER BRANDS SHOULD BE CELEBRATING

In May 2025, the UK Government made the decision to ban less healthy food advertising, specifically prohibiting paid advertising featuring foods that are high in fat, salt or sugar (commonly referred to as HFSS) in a bid to tackle childhood obesity.  

These restrictions, imposed from January 5 this year, apply to boosted posts, paid influencer partnerships and banner ads.  

Brands that rely on paid advertising to stay relevant may be panicking in the wake of these restrictions. But regulation shouldn’t kill creativity - if anything, it should be what inspires and drives it forward.  

For brands that thrive on authenticity, a PR-led approach and culture-first, relatable thinking, the playing field has been well and truly levelled. This is exciting news for challenger brands, signalling an opportunity to get ahead.  

Red tape vs authentic, relatable creativity  

Here at Democracy, supercharging challenger brands is what we do.  

Whilst big brands may be worrying about how they can navigate these new restrictions, no doubt following the advice of risk-averse, conservative legal teams while facing reams of red tape, it’s a time for challenger brands to celebrate.  

It’s the perfect time for brands and businesses to embrace the creativity we thrive on and embrace our outside-of-the-box thinking.  

When it comes to the magic we can create by thinking differently for - and in collaboration with - challenger brands, the sky truly is the limit. 

Challengers win through personality, not spend  

The HFSS restrictions mean that brands can no longer rely on paid amplification or transactional, surface-level partnerships to drive attention and stay superficially relevant.  

Instead, true, measurable success will hinge on something we’ve always championed at Democracy: earned relevance, cultural credibility and authentic, meaningful brand storytelling people actually care about.  

Big brands often rely on overt product placement, or the inclusion of recognisable logos to drive attention and sales. Whether it’s a billboard loudly showcasing the latest burger to land on a fast food outlet’s menu (that’s it, that’s the ad), a car in all its sparkling showroom glory (logo front-and-centre) or a model posing for a label-heavy clothing brand, this type of advertising can often feel boring and uninspiring, simply because it’s painfully obvious.  

For challenger brands that can’t rely on mass recognition of a physical product or logo, creativity underpins success at every level.  

Regulations: the death of creativity or an opportunity to drive change?  

While paid ads are prohibited under the new HFSS regulations, organic, unpaid posts by brands and influencers are still permitted. 

We’ve demonstrated how these opportunities can be leveraged brilliantly at Democracy, through our Sleigh Bentos Christmas campaign for heritage pie-in-a-tin brand, Fray Bentos. 

We kicked off our campaign with a curation of the year’s ‘must-have’ Christmas jumper, which was sold exclusively via the Baxter's website (and sold out within two weeks once our campaign was activated).  

We shortlisted key media and influencer targets to receive a complimentary Festive-emergency gift box, featuring an exclusive jumper, Festive Turkey Pie and branded tin opener.  

There was no demand for coverage, and no obligation for those in receipt of a box to actually do anything with it - meaning those who chose to talk about the campaign did so because it resonated with them on a personal level.  

Over three months, positive brand sentiment rose by 12% and total brand mentions, all organic, grew by 50%. The campaign achieved a total reach of 155 million across consumer and trade media. Through influencer and media gifting, 111 pieces of user-generated content were secured, generating an OTS of 24 million and 33.5k engagements across multiple social platforms.  

This creative, multi-platform approach maximised visibility, drove engagement and strengthened the Fray Bentos brand online. It also proved that long-term love and admiration for a brand that connects with its audience, and carefully chosen partnerships with likeminded creators will always outweigh superficial, overtly commercialised posts and transactional, surface-level relationships with influencers.  

A time for celebration for challengers  

For big brands, success is often built around scale, overt advertising and paid media coverage. Remove these paid advertising opportunities, and many brands will lose their main advantage.  

Challenger brands are accustomed to doing more with less, already leveraging authenticity, earned attention and smart storytelling in order to succeed.  

HFSS restrictions signal a drive towards brand-building and cultural relevance, an area already dominated by challengers whose entire brand is built on tone, voice, narrative and attitude.  

Challengers already think big, packaging their brilliant ideas into media-ready bundles. Partnerships are built meaningfully and develop organically, over time. Stunts are strategically planned and often unforgettable, and close-knit communities built on trust, authenticity and people-first ideas are born of brands who work hard for their reputation - they don’t simply buy it.  

Whilst big brands battle through restrictions and red tape, challengers are already paving the way - and we’re proudly championing them every step.