Restricting promotions of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt: consultation

Section 3. Location and other non-price promotions

Summary of our proposals

We propose to restrict the location of targeted foods in prominent places in physical premises where they are sold to the public. This would include following locations:

• checkout areas, including self service
• end of aisle
• front of store, including store entrances and covered outside areas connected to the main shopping area
• island/bin displays^[31].

We also propose that these restrictions would apply to the equivalent locations online, for example home and checkout pages.

The restrictions would apply to pre-packed targeted foods. Promotions of non-pre-packed soft drinks with added sugar in respect of unlimited refills for a fixed charge would also be within scope of the restrictions^[32].

We propose to be consistent in our definition of locations, where appropriate to do so, with those set out in UK Government regulations and with proposals in the Welsh Government consultation.

Non-price promotions

95. How and where foods are promoted and marketed influences our food purchasing decisions and drives sales of targeted foods. In addition to price, non-price promotions can also influence consumer purchase behaviour.

96. There are different types of non-price promotions. These include, amongst other things: placement of products in prominent locations, such as checkouts and end of aisles, in-store marketing, purchase rewards and coupons and branded chiller and floor display units.

97. A key message from our previous consultation on our Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan is that there is a risk that restricting only price promotions may lead to more non-price promotions.

UK Government regulations for England

98. The UK Government has set out in regulations the locations that will be subject to restrictions in England. Location restrictions will apply to the following:

• store entrances
• covered external areas
• aisle ends (including separate structures within 50cm of aisle ends such as island bins)
• checkouts
• designated queuing areas

99. The restrictions will also apply to the online equivalents of these locations. These include home pages, certain searching or browsing pages for other food categories, "pop-up" pages, favourites pages (unless the consumer has purchased it or identified it as a "favourite" product) and shopping basket or checkout pages.

100. The UK Government regulations, explanatory memorandum and implementation guidance provide further detail on the UK Government location restrictions. This includes definitions for, amongst other things, checkouts and store entrances.

Welsh Government consultation

101. Welsh Government propose in their consultation paper the following locations should be subject to restrictions:

• store entrance
• at the till
• end of aisle
• free standing display units

Our proposals

102. We previously sought views on restricting a wide range of non-price promotion types. This included, amongst other things, restrictions on where targeted foods could be located in store and the promotion of value, for example, drawing attention to price reductions.

103. Feedback to our previous consultation found that non-industry organisations generally indicated agreement with the proposed approach while industry respondents tended to either indicate disagreement or not offer a specific view. Individuals' views were mixed. It was, however, noted by all respondent types that more information was required to more fully comment on the proposals, including how these promotions would be defined, particularly in relation to location restrictions.

104. Despite mixed views from individual respondents to the consultation, a 2019 Food Standards Scotland survey found 56% of those who took part supported restricting HFSS food placement at checkouts. Obesity Health Alliance's 2020 survey found that 72% of those surveyed supported government action on restricting promotion of unhealthy food in prominent places.

105. There is consistent and extensive evidence from a range of studies that non-price promotions (positional or placement or location promotions) influence consumer choice of food (to either purchase healthy or unhealthy products) in both retail and out of home settings ^{[33],[34],[35]}. For example, an observational study in England, which controlled for price, evidenced that end of aisle display significantly increased purchase of carbonated soft drinks. A 2018 survey by the Obesity Health Alliance showed that 43% of all food and drink products located in prominent areas, such as store entrances, checkouts, and aisle ends were for sugary foods and drinks. By contributing to a reduction in the purchase of HFSS foods, restricting non-price promotions therefore presents an opportunity to support reductions in the purchase and consumption of calories, fats, sugar and salt and progress towards achieving our Dietary Goals.

106. In relation to online, a 2021 survey by Obesity Action Scotland found that non-price promotions were most often found at the stage of selecting items, such as product landing pages and in the search results, or in the offers tabs.

107. Having considered the evidence base, alongside feedback to the previous consultation and in view of the UK Government regulations, our proposals focus on restricting the non-price promotion types where we have the best evidence of impact on consumer purchases at this time.

Location^[36] restrictions

108. We propose to restrict the location of targeted foods in prominent places in physical premises where they are sold to the public. This would include:

• checkout areas, including self service
• end of aisle
• front of store, including store entrances and covered outside areas connected to the main shopping area
• island/bin displays^[37].

109. As more people purchase food online ^[38],[39], a trend that has been accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[40],[41], we propose that these restrictions should apply to equivalent locations online, for example to home and checkout pages. Our proposed approach to online is discussed in more detail in section 4 of this consultation.

110. The restrictions would apply to pre-packed targeted foods. Promotions of non-pre-packed soft drinks with added sugar in respect of unlimited refills for a fixed charge would also be within scope of the restrictions. Further detail in respect of our proposals to target pre-packed and non-pre-packed foods is set out at paragraphs 73-74.

Definitions

111. We will consider carefully how we define location restrictions, seeking expert advice as required.

112. The UK Government has set out in regulations for England the definitions for its location restrictions. This provides an opportunity to explore the scope for aligning our own definitions with those set out in the UK Government regulations. In considering this, we would want to ensure any definitions would be fit for purpose in the Scottish context and that alignment would be in Scotland's best interests. We also need to recognise the potential benefits of alignment, where clear and consistent definitions applied on a UK basis would likely help to minimise the regulatory burden for businesses operating in both Scotland and England. At this stage, we would propose consistency with the UK Government definitions where appropriate and where this supports delivery of our policy in Scotland.

Promotion of value

113. In our previous consultation, we also sought views on restricting promoting the value of the products (i.e. no extra prominence would be given on the basis of price, size or volume,), and upselling (e.g. being asked if you want an additional product at the till or to increase the size of it). We received few specific comments in the consultation to help inform our proposals on promotion of value.

114. We commissioned research to explore the potential impact of promotion of value. The research concluded there was no impact. Taking into consideration the results of this research, the 2018/19 consultation feedback, and the overall limited evidence in relation to promotion of value at this time, we do not intend to include any restrictions on this form of promotion in our current proposals.

Questions

Question 9 - Should the location of targeted foods in-store be restricted at:

Checkout areas, including self-service - Yes/ No/ Don't know

End of aisle - Yes/ No/ Don't know

Front of store, including store entrances and covered outside areas connected to the main shopping area - Yes/ No/ Don't know

Island/ bin displays - Yes/ No/ Don't know

Please explain your answers.

Question 10 - Should any other types of in-store locations be included in restrictions?

Yes (please specify)

No

Don't know

Please explain your answer

Question 11 - If included, should the location of targeted foods online be restricted on:

Home page - Yes/ No/ Don't know

Favourite products page - Yes/ No/ Don't know

Pop-ups, and similar pages not intentionally opened by the user - Yes/ No/ Don't know

Shopping basket - Yes/ No/ Don't know

Checkout page - Yes/ No/ Don't know

Please explain your answer.

Question 12 - Should any other online locations be included in restrictions?

Yes (please specify)

No

Don't know

Please explain your answer.

Question 13 - Are there other types of promotions (in-store or online) not covered by our proposals for restricting price and location promotions that should be within scope?

Yes/ No/ Don't know

Please explain your answer.