HFSS Within Retail
Locations Restrictions
Live since October 2022
What are the restrictions?
Retailers with more than 50 employees AND relevant internal floor area (sales space) of over 2,000 sq. ft (185.8sqm) cannot display HFSS products within certain distances of checkouts and designated queuing areas, on end-of-aisle units, and near store entrances from October 2022. The location restrictions apply to all HFSS products regardless of how they are promoted.
What is the impact to me as a retailer?
You will not be able to put any products deemed HFSS in the below locations.
Store Entrances
You cannot display HFSS products within a restricted area of your store entrance. This applies to ALL public store entrances, but dedicated store exits are exempt. The restricted area around your store entrance is 3% of your total relevant floorspace up to a maximum of 15m. The restricted area (2.4m in the example below) represents the measurement from the mid-point of the store entrance out and to the sides of the entrance where you are not allowed to display HFSS products. This forms a semi-circle aligned with base of the inside of the door as demonstrated in the diagram below
If the restricted area around the store entrance overlaps with your aisles HFSS products cannot placed in the restricted areas of the aisles, even if this is not visible to the customers from the entrance.
End of Aisle displays
You cannot display HFSS products on end-of-aisle units or a separate structure (such as an island bin, free-standing unit, side stack or clip strip) connected or adjacent to, or within 50cm of, such an aisle end. The areas, shaded red in the diagram below, represent aisle ends where HFSS products cannot be displayed. Other separate display structures must be 50cm away from these locations. Island type displays are not captured by the end-of-aisle unit restrictions as these do not have one prominent end for displaying goods unless they are in a HFSS restricted area.
Designated Queuing Areas
You cannot display HFSS products within 2m of a designated queuing area. Designated queuing areas mean an area set aside or marked using signage, floor stickers or barriers for customers to use when waiting to complete a purchase. You can display HFSS products within 2m of a designated queuing area only if they are within (but not at the end of) an aisle. If your store does not have a designated queuing area set aside or marked using signage, floor stickers or barriers then you can continue to display HFSS products is this area, as long as they comply with restrictions on checkouts, store entrances and end-of-aisle units.
Checkout Facility
You cannot display HFSS products within 2m of a checkout facility where customers complete purchases. This includes areas on or behind the checkout and self-service checkouts. You can display HFSS products within 2m of a checkout facility if they are within (but not at the end of) an aisle. There are no restrictions on images of HFSS products, on posters or digital screens, being displayed within 2m of checkout facilities or behind counters.
What can I do to mitigate?
Plenty of our brands are compliant so there is plenty of opportunity to drive these brands as a sign post to the aisle.
Make HFSS SKU’s stand out in aisle, consider more facings of high selling HFSS brands such as Crunchy Nut.
Multi locate in other HFSS compliant areas for example set up a special offers bay
What should my fixtures look like after the restrictions go live?
Cereal Fixture
Crisps Fixture
Snacks Multipack Fixture
Snacks Singles Fixture
I sell items online through my own website, am I affected?
The regulations prevent convenience retailers from locating HFSS products on certain areas of their website or online marketplaces similar to the location restrictions in stores from October 2022. HFSS products cannot be offered for sale online in the following circumstances:
- Home page
- Checkout Page
- Where a consumer is searching or browsing for Non-HFSS products
- Favourites product page
Multibuy Restrictions
Projected to go live no earlier than October 2025
What are the restrictions?
Volume promotion restrictions will apply to multibuy and extra free promotions of HFSS products for convenience retailers with 50 or more employees regardless of their floor area
What can’t I do?
What can I do to mitigate?
Transition with suppliers into a new pricing model, pass on the price off promotions instead of old multi buy promotions.
If you are less than 2000sqft consider a multi locating your promotions to capitalise on all the available space in store.
Symbol and Franchise Groups
If you are part of a symbol or franchise group you could be liable to the regulations.
Convenience retailers that are deemed to have a 'franchise agreement' will have to calculate their employee numbers based on all employees within the whole franchise
business or symbol group they are part of, not just the people directly employed in store(s).
Convenience retailers will need to consult their symbol group supplier or franchise partner to discuss whether their agreement is considered to be a 'franchise
agreement’ as defined in the regulations.
The regulations define a ‘franchise agreement’ based on ALL the following criteria:
- You agree with another party to the sale or distribution of food.
- You agree with another party to the supply of particular food products specified in an agreement.
- You agree with another party to comparable contractual arrangements as other businesses to:
- a) Products provided by the franchisor.
- b) The internal or external appearance of the premise.
- c) The business model used for the operation of the business.
Retailers should gain access to legal advice on the status of their contracts, either:
- a) Advice provided by their symbol or franchise head office, or,
- b) Advice the retailer has sourced themselves.
