HFSS store trial shows '20 per cent drop in sales'

Implementation of HFSS restrictions is feared to have an effect on sales, as shown by a recent trial testing out the upcoming restrictions on high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) products at 50 supermarkets have seen a decline in sales.

Recent research by Reapp found that non-HFSS products within the biscuit and chilled categories have seen a 20 per cent dip in sales in comparison with the same time last year in the stores under trial while HFSS-compliant healthier categories brands had seen up to 10 per cent growth.

“The impact of lost sales volume for brands and the knock-on effect on VAT income for the government, at a time when we’re about to enter a recession, means stimulating growth must be prioritised,” reports quoted Reapp’s group sales marketing manager James Lamplugh as saying.

“While anything that tackles obesity is a good thing, I don’t see HFSS going ahead now,” he said. “The impact of lost sales volume for brands and the knock-on effect on VAT income for the government, at a time when we’re about to enter a recession, means stimulating growth must be prioritised.”

The data has been collected from brands supplying 50 supermarket stores implementing HFSS restrictions, tracking sales across a six-month period from March to September 2022.

The research’s finding comes amid reports that prime minister Liz Truss is contemplating to scrap upcoming HFSS restrictions. The Guardian cited a Whitehall source to state that the review was “deregulatory in focus” and is expected to lead to the new government jettisoning a raft of anti-obesity policies inherited from Boris Johnson, Truss’s predecessor in Downing Street.

The report adds that the review could enable Truss to lift the ban on sugary products being displayed at checkouts as well as enable “buy one get one free” multi-buy deals in shops. The restrictions on advertising certain products on TV before the 9pm watershed could also be ditched.

Whitehall sources also hinted that the Department of Health and Social Care’s “internal summary” will also look at possibly letting got the calorie counts on menu which are designed to encourage people to choose healthier dishes and only became mandatory in April. Questions are also raised on the future of sugar tax, which began in 2018 and has helped make soft drinks much less unhealthy, should go too.