Government can’t leave progress on healthy food sales to the market, warns Food Foundation in new report
Outdoor advertising of junk food on high street billboards is replacing traditional TV adverts as companies look to get around an upcoming ban that hopes to help protect children’s health.
That’s according to the Food Foundation, which has pubilshed its flagship State of the Nation’s Food Industry report today (2 December).
The organisation found that out-of-home advertising of junk food rose by almost a third between 2021 and 2024, following the government announcement of the TV and online advertising ban.
Gaming is another key outlet for junk food advertising, with over two thirds of food marketing ads on the world’s most popular videogame livestreaming platform are for unhealthy (HFSS) food and drinks.
The Food Foundation is calling on government to take a stronger stance against corporate lobbying and close loopholes, such as alternative advertising options for junk food.
‘We cannot continue to leave progress on healthy and sustainable sales to the market. It’s simply not working,” said head of food business transformation at The Food Foundation, Rebecca Tobi.
“For too long there has been no long-term vision for the UK’s food system with a striking lack of commercial incentives for businesses to produce and sell us good food.”
In January 2026, a ban on adverts for food and drink that are high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) on TV before 9pm and online will be introduced.
Outdoor advertising, including billboards, buses, bus shelters, train station advertising, shopping outlets and taxis, is exempt from the ban.
