MRC Epidemiology Unit
A lot of unhealthy food in the UK is sold using price promotions or special offers, such as ‘buy one get one free (BOGOF)’ deals.
At the start of October 2025 price and multibuy promotions on unhealthy food and drink were banned in England. Scotland and Wales are planning to bring in similar bans. The measure is seen as an important step to tackle obesity – and help people, particularly children to eat better.
The ban on multi-buy deals on less healthy food and drink was approved by Parliament in 2021, but its implementation had been delayed because of concerns about the cost-of-living-crisis.
SHOP: Supermarket HFSS Offers and Promotions study
Now a team of researchers, led by Dr Oliver Mytton at University College London (UCL) together with Professor Martin White and Professor Jean Adams at the MRC Epidemiology Unit have been awarded a grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to understand the impact of voluntary bans that some supermarkets implemented before the national ban in England came into force.
Two major UK supermarkets voluntarily chose to stop using special offers before the ban was introduced . This provides a valuable opportunity to understand the real-world impacts of stopping the use of special offers.
Using information collected by market research companies on people’s food shopping, the SHOP study team will study the impact of the two supermarkets stopping the use of special offers.
They will compare how much and what type of food people bought before and after special offers were stopped and will also look at how much people spent on food shopping to understand if the bans make food shopping more expensive. This information will be used to estimate the impact that changes in the foods people buy might have on their health, and the possible impact on NHS costs.
The researchers will also study the impact of stopping special offers on the two supermarkets, and the food manufacturers who supply their foods, using publicly available information such as company accounts and employment data.
They will also speak to customers to understand what they think about the bans on multi-buy deals, and how they use special offers; and will also look at food industry documents, trade magazines and press statements to understand what the companies were doing and thinking.
The project lasts two years and will run to summer 2027.
Dr Oliver Mytton , the study’s Principal Investigator said:
There is a lot of interest in restricting the use of price promotions to sell unhealthy foods, but there is very little evidence of true impact of bans. This study provides a valuable opportunity to understand the real-world impacts of the policy both for consumers and for businesses. We will look to see not just whether it affects what people buy, but what it means for the price of food and the weekly shop.”
Share your thoughts on price promotions
As part of the SHOPS study, Dr Natalie Egan of the MRC Epidemiology Unit is inviting 40 people with different shopping experiences to share their thoughts on shopping and price promotions. If you’d like to get involved, find out more on the Promo Bans study website.