Greggs and the UK’s New Junk Food Ad Ban

🕘 1. The ban in 60 seconds

On 5 January 2026, the UK’s restrictions on advertising food and drink that’s high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS — called “less healthy food” in the law) became fully enforceable across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as confirmed in the government’s official guidance. In plain English, two things happened:

• TV & on-demand: no adverts for identifiable “less healthy” products between 5.30am and 9pm.
• Online: a 24-hour ban on paid-for advertising of those products — that covers social media ads, display banners, paid search and paid influencer posts.

The rules ride on the Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024, which gave practical effect to the Health and Care Act 2022’s changes to the Communications Act 2003, plus a follow-up statutory instrument in 2025 that specifically carved out general “brand” advertising which doesn’t picture an identifiable product. Enforcement sits with the Advertising Standards Authority, with Ofcom as the statutory backstop for broadcast. And no, it’s not a loophole-free wall: billboards, radio and in-store marketing were deliberately left out.

🧪 2. The two-part “less healthy” test

A product only gets caught if it fails both parts of the test. First, it must sit in one of 13 regulated categories — think sugary drinks, sweets, ice cream, cakes, sweet biscuits, morning goods (buns, croissants, waffles), desserts, pizza, chips, and sandwiches/wraps. Second, it must score 4 or more (for food) or 1 or more (for drinks) on the UK’s nutrient profiling model — the same scoring system Ofcom and the ASA have used for years.

That two-part design is why a bakery like Greggs ends up with a split personality under the law: one product on the counter can be advertised freely while the one next to it is effectively silenced online. Industry coverage from Bakery & Snacks on launch day noted exactly this — mixed portfolios now have “one SKU free to advertise, another effectively silenced, even though shoppers see them as part of the same brand family”.

🥧 3. The plot twist: the sausage roll escapes

Here’s the bit nobody expected. The regulations’ exemption list explicitly carves out “savoury pastry products such as meat, fish, vegetable or meat alternative pastry pies, pasties, sausage rolls, tarts, tartlets, quiches, slices, lattices and plaits”. Trade press British Baker confirmed the same when the final legislation was published: savoury pastries such as meat pies, sausage rolls and quiches are exempt — while, as a separate industry Q&A on the rules puts it plainly, “sweet pastry products are in scope.”

So the iconic Greggs sausage roll — along with the steak bake, chicken bake, pasties and the vegan roll — can legally still be advertised on daytime TV and in paid online ads in 2026. The sweet cabinet, on the other hand, is a different story.

🗺️ 4. Greggs menu mapped: banned vs allowed

I’ve matched the regulation’s category list against the current Greggs menu, using our own tracked prices and calories. “In scope” means the product sits in a regulated category and would almost certainly score 4+ on nutrient profiling — so paid online ads and pre-9pm TV ads for it are off-limits.

Prices & calories from our own tracked guides: sausage roll price & nutrition and the Sweet Treats menu 2026. “Restricted” = paid online ads banned 24/7 and TV ads only after 9pm.

🪧 5. Where you’ll still see Greggs ads

Don’t expect Greggs to go quiet. The ban only covers TV and paid online, which leaves a big toolbox untouched:

• Billboards & out-of-home: completely unaffected — and Greggs already loves a stunt here (remember the live billboard mural for its sandwich range?). Expect more of this, not less.
• Radio & audio: audio-only formats sit outside the ban.
• The Greggs App & CRM: stamp cards, freebie codes and the app’s stamp system are owned channels, not paid advertising — totally fine.
• In-store & packaging: the counter, the window posters, the smell at 8am. All legal.
• Brand-only ads: under the 2025 brand advertising exemption, a Greggs advert that doesn’t show an identifiable “less healthy” product can run any time — expect more cheeky brand campaigns and fewer close-ups of cookies.
• Post-9pm TV: the doughnut can still appear, just after the watershed.

🛒 6. The supermarket shelf angle

There’s a second, quieter rule worth knowing about. Since 1 October 2025, medium and large retailers in England can’t run multibuy deals (think 2-for-1s) on HFSS products or give them prime checkout and store-entrance placement, per the government’s promotions guidance. That one bites where Greggs lives in supermarkets — the Tesco frozen bake-at-home range and the Iceland range — so sweet bakes and snack items may lose the yellow-sticker multibuy love, while Greggs shops themselves (a takeaway/catering setting) carry on as normal.

💷 7. What it means for your wallet (and your waistline)

Short version: your deals are safe. The rules regulate paid advertising, not prices, loyalty offers or app perks. So Greggs discounts & deals, meal deals, O2 Priority perks and Monzo treats all carry on — they’re CRM and partnerships, not HFSS display advertising.

The bigger picture is health, of course — the wider aim, spelled out by the Department of Health, is to help halve childhood obesity by 2030. And there’s another force reshaping the counter: weight-loss jabs are already changing what Britain orders at Greggs — if you’re on one, here’s what to order on Mounjaro or Ozempic.

💬 Frequently Asked Questions