The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Scotland has initiated a funding opportunity aimed at assisting Scottish food and beverage producers as they gear up for impending high fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS) regulations.
Scottish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the food and drink sector can now seek grants of up to £5,000 to support reformulation efforts aimed at enhancing the nutritional profile of their current offerings. Applications for this funding will remain open until May 31, 2026.
The upcoming Food (Promotion and Placement) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 will take effect on October 1, 2026. These regulations will impose limitations on the marketing of products categorized as HFSS based on the UK Nutritional Profile Model (NPM) score.
Under this framework, HFSS items will no longer qualify for location-based promotions, including end-of-aisle displays or prompts at store entrances, nor will they be eligible for volume discounts, such as buy-one-get-one-free deals or multi-buy offers. Seasonal promotions tied to events like Burns Night, St Andrew’s Day, and Christmas will also be impacted.
Categories affected by these regulations encompass confectionery, breakfast items, yogurts, desserts, cakes, snacks, pizza, ready meals, chips, and various potato products.
The available funding can be applied toward expenses such as trial ingredients, nutritional assessment, recipe development tools, and specialized consulting services. NPM scores will be evaluated pre- and post-reformulation to showcase nutritional enhancements.
Joanne Burns, who oversees the Reformulation for Health initiative at FDF Scotland, remarked: “With the Scottish HFSS regulations coming into force this October, reformulation is one of the most effective ways businesses can protect shelf space and promotional activity – while also improving the nutritional content of their products.”
She further noted, “Through our Reformulation for Health Programme, we offer free, confidential support to help manufacturers understand their NPM scores and identify realistic reformulation options. This new round of funding is designed to remove some of the cost and risk involved, and we would strongly encourage Scottish SMEs to take advantage of the support now, ahead of the regulations coming into effect.”
Manufacturers interested in this opportunity can apply through the NPM Reduction Fund survey available online.
