Hospitality ‘bites back’ at social media junk claims

Hospitality and advertising bosses have ‘bitten back’ after being criticised for bombarding young people with marketing for HFSS products using social media.

Youth charity BiteBack accused the UK’s biggest fast food chains of using social media to bypass the new restrictions on HFSS advertising.

The charity this week claimed young people’s social media accounts were being “flooded” by HFSS junk food content, with the medium being used to bypass the government’s junk food ban.

Bite Back said out of home food to go companies such as Greggs, KFC, McDonald’s, Domino’s and Burger King were making prolific use of social media such as Instagram and TikTok to promote their HFSS products with themes, language or trends likely to appeal to young people.

Instead of buying ads on TV or online, it accused companies of simply marketing direct to kids via their apps and social media posts – a space that it claimed was “totally unregulated”.

On average, nearly three-quarters (72%) of all food posts featured products high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS), the kinds of junk food that cannot legally be advertised on TV or online.

However, advertising bodies accused BiteBack of a “fundamental misunderstanding” of the new rules, which came into force in January, and blasted the research after it emerged that the data for it was gathered between 15 November 2024 and 15 February 2025, a year before the ban came into force.

A spokeswoman for the Advertising Association said: “It is disappointing to see BiteBack making inaccurate claims in this report, not least when they appear to have misunderstood or ignored the rules which govern advertising online – including on social media.

“Companies operating in the UK must fully comply with the existing rules on advertising HFSS foods, which are overseen and enforced by the ASA.

“These are absolutely clear that ‘no medium should be used to advertise HFSS products if more than 25% of its audience is under 16 years of age’. This includes companies’ own social media accounts, and any posts targeted at specific users.

“When it comes to the ‘less healthy’ food and drink rules, the government made clear throughout that these apply to paid-for online advertising, and not to brands’ owned channels.

“Advertisers agreed voluntarily to bring in these restrictions early, from October last year. They continue to work hard to play their part and comply with the restrictions.”

A hospitality source told The Grocer: “The fact that the research was conducted before the ad ban even came into effect really puts into question the validity of the report full stop.”

D’Arcy Williams, BiteBack CEO said: “This report punctures any suggestions that big food companies are passive actors when it comes to our food system and children’s health.

“Politicians rightly celebrated progress on advertising restrictions earlier this year, but too little done too late means that brands continue to expose young people to unhealthy food and drink marketing on their phones, following them everywhere they go. This isn’t accidental – industry tactics are deliberately targeting young people in spaces that aren’t properly regulated.”