05 January 2026
'World leading' junk food advertising ban still allowing businesses to target children
A landmark UK junk food advertising ban comes into effect today, marking a major step forward in improving child health.
Yet despite this progress but big food companies have been switching tactics and using every channel still available to target young people, including outdoor advertising and brand advertising.
Corporate lobbying has watered down government policies amid a series of delays surrounding implementation, as highlighted in our latest State of the Nation's Food Industry report.
Reacting to the new regulations, Anna Taylor, Executive Director of The Food Foundation, said: "Today marks a big, world leading, milestone, on the journey to protect children from being exposed to the onslaught of junk food advertising which is currently so harmful to their health.
"But let’s not forget it took more than seven years from when it was first announced to coming into force. In the meantime, companies are switching tactics and switching channels to reach children in different ways.
"Our data shows that spending on outdoor advertising increased by 28% between 2021 and 2024 and the legislation permits companies to switch from product advertising to brand advertising which is likely to significantly weaken its impact.
"We can’t stop here, we must remain focused on the goal – banning all forms of junk food advertising to children, and we must create a policy process which can be more responsive to industry tactics and less vulnerable to industry lobbying."
Food Ambassador Dev Sharma, who has campaigned strongly against junk food advertising targeted at children, said: "Today is a real win, and it didn’t happen by accident. It happened because young people refused to be background noise.
"For years we were told to wait, to be patient, to trust the process. Instead, we kept pointing at what was right in front of us: a digital world where junk food marketing follows you everywhere, shaping cravings before you’re old enough to recognise what’s happening. Today proves that when we refuse to be quiet, the system has to listen.
"But don’t gaslight my generation into thinking the job is done. This law was promised as a shield. Right now, it looks more like a filter. By leaving the ‘brand advertising’ loophole wide open, the government is letting the industry pivot, not stop.
"Banning the burger but allowing the logo is like banning the smoke while keeping the fire. It triggers the exact same craving, just dressed up to look harmless.
"Big Food is already shape-shifting. The billboards come down, but the neon stays on. The product disappears, but the colours, the fonts, the vibe, the emotional hooks still interrupt our feeds. As long as companies can pay to embed themselves into young people’s attention, the game is still rigged.
"I’m not speaking from theory or reports alone. I grew up in this environment. I’ve lived what it means to scroll through a digital casino designed to monetise our biology, where the house always wins. I’ve seen how marketing decides what ends up in lunchboxes, in corner shops, in habits that follow you for life.
"So yes, we should mark today. It’s huge, and it matters. But celebration can’t become complacency. We didn’t campaign for a loophole. We asked for protection that actually works in the world young people live in. Until the rules match that reality, we’re not finished. We’re just getting sharper."
Anna joined The Food Foundation as its first Executive Director at the beginning of June 2015 after five years at the Department for International Development. At DFID Anna led the policy team on nutrition and supported the delivery of the UK’s global commitments to tackle undernutrition. Before joining DFID Anna worked for a number of international organisations including Save the Children and UNICEF and has been at the forefront of international leadership on nutrition for several years, supporting programmes in a wide range of contexts in Africa and South Asia. Anna has also worked for the UK Department of Health. In 2014 she was awarded an OBE for her work to address the global burden of undernutrition. She did a MSc in Human Nutrition at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1994. In May 2017 Anna became a member of the London Food Board to advise the Mayor of London and the GLA on the food matters that affect Londoners. She is a Board member for Veg Power and an advisor to the International Food Policy Research Institute. She served as Chief Independent Adviser to Henry Dimbleby for the development of the National Food Strategy published in 2021.
As well as being a Food Ambassador, Dev is Chair of the Leicester Young City Council and recently won the Diana award for his food poverty activism. Dev often speaks out on holiday hunger and Free School Meals himself. He feels strongly about the influence that junk food advertising on young people.
