HFSS Advertising Ban - Amazon are WRONG
The HFSS regulations came into force on 1st October and since then, and even the day before, we have watched many of our products advertising turn off as they are in the affected categories. In the campaigns, they show as ‘Not Approved’ with the message ‘Your ad has been suspended as it does not satisfy ad policy requirements.’
We have uploaded all of the necessary HFSS data that is required, which all show as being live on the backend of the detail pages.
After opening a case with Advertising Support as to why our products were showing this message, they said
“Following a change in regulation the advertising and promotion of products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) is now prohibited in this locale. Please remove any products in this category from your ad.”
There are 2 reasons as to why their reasoning is wrong.
-
As per the UK governments update as per the link below, “The restrictions banning HFSS adverts on TV before 9pm and paid-for adverts online will also be paused for a year, meaning they come into force January 2024”
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-delays-restrictions-on-multibuy-deals-and-advertising-on-tv-and-online
Amazon even reference and link to this themselves in their own HFSS guidance page -
You just have to type in ‘chocolate’ or ‘sweets’ and you will see plenty of listings being sold by Amazon being advertised. So either Amazon are breaking the law and continuing to advertise, or they are unfairly blocking third party sellers from advertising while they continue to…
The only regulations that have come into force since the 1st October is the restriction on the placement of listings on homepages, payment pages, pop ups etc, NOT a blanket advertising ban.
Therefore, I think it is fair to conclude that Amazon have messed up big time here and need to fix this ASAP. Does anyone from their teams actually read the forums anymore to see this and do something about it??
43 replies
Seller_WseB32EBb785w
I can’t disagree with you. Furthermore, it isn’t just promotional activity that is no longer available. We have top selling sku’s that have vanished from page 1 and in some instances do not appear at all. We have Amazons Choice accreditations on our products too, on Vegan Cookies for instance, yet when you click the link, we do not show. We have one product that has been given a HFSS status of “less healthy” (which it is) on the listing, but ahead of us uploading any info, that now appears on P1, yet sells next to nothing compared to the ASINS that have vanished. We have a product that was #9 in grocery that is now #790, and clearly in freefall. In addition, at least on the spreadhseets that we downloaded, there is no facility to upload data for a third party brand, only for the ones you own yourselves. The reason I am posting at 6.30 am is that I have been awake all night wondering how we will now sell thousands of seasonal items that we have produced.
Seller_WseB32EBb785w
I have just been onto a few of the supermarkets sites, 3 of them to be precise. They all have shots of HFSS restricted products on their homepage - pizza, soft drinks, fries etc and and the 2nd largest discounter, who have a food offers section, have virtually nothing but HFSS products on offer, Chocolate Muffins, Chocolate Bars, Crepes, Chocolate Croissants, Caramel Bars et al. Yet we can no longer advertise them or sell any volume. The legislation itself is madness. I eat treats, but I also spend 3 hours a week in the gym and cycle 40 miles. Everything in life works when there is balance, but on here balance doesn’t exist. Ultimately, this has to affect Amazons sales of HFSS items, especially at Christmas. At that point, they will possibly do something, but it could be too late. Of all the years this wasn’t needed, it’s this one.
Seller_WseB32EBb785w
No, I’m pretty sure they’re following the law - the legislation allows what they’re are doing I believe, especially in the case of the #2 value retailer or discounter. Ironically, I have just clicked onto Morrisons (Prime via Amazon) and HFSS items appear on the homepage, including a leading branded confectionery item, featured at £1.25 from £2.39. If either of us sold the same item on amazon, would we be able to do this ? You couldn’t make it up !
Seller_xXCiqyAIU874r
We were well aware of this HFSS rule from amazon, and when the government announced the push back and amazon kept sending their automated HFSS e-mails I kinda knew amazon were pressing ahead regardless. I updated all our listings to show they were unhealthy but from October the advertising is still switched on and working, in fact sales are higher than ever. In all fairness we have contingency plans in place if sales drop as a result of amazons inability to implement changes on the correct date. Market places are a bit of a grey area regarding the new rules as if you have less than 50 employees then the HFSS shouldn’t effect your business and if your not using amazon for fulfilment then technically you still should be able to advertise. The other big market places haven’t implemented a thing to do with HFSS?
Seller_3o4SC9FDqdOQU
I am getting the same reply for a “vitamin product” with no salt, sugar or fat as an ingredient… but they are still saying HFSS regulations bla bla…
Seller_aqTCnx7SDvKOO
I reached out to Seller Support to ask them specifically which government legislation they are referring to when they give the reasoning that advertising is now prohibited etc. The link they sent me is the one below, which is The Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/1368/made
On the surface, this might seem like the place where the legislation they are referring to is.
However, this is where they are completely WRONG.
The actual legislation regarding the Online Advertising of less healthy food and drink is actually in the Health and Care Act 2022, Part 4c, linked below.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/31/schedule/18/paragraph/3
At present, the legislation says this comes into force in January 2023, but the governments press release, as linked to in the HFSS guidance page on Amazon states that this has been delayed until January 2024.
I have reached out to the legislation website to point me in the right direction of the amendment to the legislation as I am struggling to find it on the website.
Therefore, it is safe to say that what Amazon have done is full of holes and wouldn’t stand up in a court of law I feel.
How such a thing can happen like this in a company the size of Amazon is beyond me
Seller_e6W0DhZtXtxwt
i have a “healthy” product which im not allowed to advertise, the same support agent has just told me (five times)
“Following a change in regulation the advertising and promotion of products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) is now prohibited in this locale. Please remove any products in this category from your ad.”
i think theyre in a right mess with it
Seller_e2Jc0PNpNKfoY
Just posted this on another thread.
If you tried your best to deal with seller support and have got no where after many attempts, reach out to managingdirector@amazon.co.uk and tell them. They would be interested to know that Amazon is losing out on £100,000’s of pounds of advertising and FBA revenue because their staff does not know how to apply this regulation properly. More people that can contact them with this issue, the better, as they might realise the scale of the problem and incompetence of their staff (though this they might already know).
We got a final conclusion email today morning telling us that the vitamin pills we sell are banned as per HFSS. They actually wrote “after through investigation we have concluded your vitamin capsules are banned as per HFSS”
So we have sent a long email to the Managing Director email. This should be only used after you have done everything you could with seller support, or they will just completely ignore the email.
Seller_5HzuptGnEI2F9
Hey I’m running a supplement brands PPC at the moment we’ve tried everything in uploading all the HFSS data - added “not in scope” and all the other HFSS data but still no luck.
Is anyone doing supplements at the moment and worked out how to resolve this?
Seller_Q9o5wewR234ou
We also sell supplements with no sugar/salt or fat. All our ads are not approved. Yet amazon allow big brands to advertise foods and snacks that are high in sugar and fat. How does this make sense? anyone heard anything new from amazon?
