The Research
The study will assess the impact the new high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) product placement law (October 2022) has on the food bought and eaten by people who use convenience stores and on store profits. It will also find out how much work it generates for local governments. A key aim is to help all convenience store owners find ways to offer healthier options to their customers without affecting their profits.
Background
On 1st October 2022 a new government law came into force to stop unhealthy products high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) being promoted at checkouts, aisle ends and store entrances in shops that sell food. Some price promotions will also be banned from October 2025.
Smaller convenience stores, often visited by young and older adults and low-income families, do not need to follow these guidelines. These groups of people may, therefore, not see the same health benefits from this law as people who shop in supermarkets might.
Larger convenience store owners are worried they will find it hard to stick to the new rules and that it might reduce sales and damage their businesses. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing the new law and are worried about the extra workload that will be required to ensure compliance
1. Examine impact of the new law at the national level
- We will use Kantar household food purchasing data to examine the items that people of different ages, levels of income and education buy from convenience stores before and after introduction of the new law.
- We will use Kantar household food purchasing data to see whether food purchasing differs between families that shop at convenience stores affected by the law and those that shop at stores not affected.
- We will conduct a survey with ~2000 convenience store owners to measure the impact of the new law on business’ profits, the costs of changing the products they sell and their business support needs.
- We will conduct a survey with all 318 local governments in England to understand what support they are giving to local businesses to implement the new law and how many businesses have been penalised for breaking the rules.
2. Deep-dive into local convenience store systems
We have partnered with six local authorities in England (Gateshead, Greenwich, Nottinghamshire, Southampton, Southwark, Surrey) to conduct an in-depth assessment of the factors that support and hinder convenience stores from supporting healthier purchases.
- We will assess what items are being sold in stores and what products are promoted in ~250 convenience stores across the six local areas.
- We will assess differences in product sales between convenience stores that have to comply with the new law and those that are exempt.
- We will survey the customers of these ~250 convenience stores and ask about their shopping and dietary habits. We will examine how these habits differ by age and other characteristics.
- We will also interview store staff, customers, suppliers and local authority enforcers about their views on how convenience stores can better support the health and wellbeing of their local communities without reducing their profits and what support is needed.
Our Local Authority Partners
3. Co-creation of policy strategies
- We will work with stakeholders in a series of workshops in each local area to co-create local strategies that support viable, sustainable healthful food purchases in each case study area.
- We will share key learnings from these workshops with national policymakers.
Contact Us
Please contact us at the following:
Centre for Food Policy,
City St.George's, University of London,Northampton Square,
London EC1V 0HB
econ@citystgeorges.ac.uk
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The Centre for Food Policy is part of City, St George's, University of London.
Family food experience study | Household Food Simulation | Healthy start evaluation