Scottish Grocers’ Federation helps stores prepare for regulations
THE Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) has published a concise guide for retailers in scope for the upcoming restrictions about the promotion and placement to food & drink High in Fat, Sugar or Salt (HFSS).
The Guide provides store owners and managers with a quick reference for businesses about the products in scope, and details of the promotion, location and online restrictions to ensure full compliance across the sector.
You can access both the guide and a customer-facing poster that is available from this download link. The Food (Promotion and Placement) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 come into force on 1 October 2026.
The promotion restrictions apply to businesses with 50 or more employees, while the location restrictions apply to businesses with 50 or more employees and a shop floor area of at least 2,000sq ft. Retailers operating under a symbol group or franchise agreement should check with their symbol group or franchise partner to confirm whether the regulations apply to them.
The rules target pre-packaged food and drink categories that contribute significantly to obesity and poor diet, such as confectionery, savoury snacks, soft drinks, cakes and biscuits, desserts and ready meals.
The legislation restricts promotions such as multibuy offers, loyalty schemes and unlimited free refills for soft drinks with added sugar.
And qualifying businesses cannot place targeted HFSS products in prominent, impulse-buying locations such as checkouts and queueing areas, entrances and aisle ends.
There are also significant restrictions for stores affected about what they can show online. So, promotional placements as a homepage feature, pop-up prompt, checkout prompt or suggested add-on are all barred.
The SGF guide explains that retailers are responsible for complying with the regulations and local authorities will be able to use enforcement officers to carry out no-notice inspections. Failure to comply can result in a maximum criminal fine of £2,500.
The full Scottish Government implementation guidance can be found here.
