The Midcounties Co-operative – HFSS Compliance

HFSS Legislation

In October 2022, new government legislation came into effect in England and Wales, targeting the promotion and placement of food and drink products high in fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS). Under the Department of Health’s nutrient profiling model, HFSS products are defined as foods scoring 4 or more points and drinks scoring 1 or more points based on their nutritional content. Retailers were required to adapt their stores to meet these regulations before the legislation’s implementation.

The Compliance Challenge

The Midcounties Co-operative, a leading retail group, engaged RAS as specialists in merchandising services to ensure full compliance across their stores. The project posed several challenges, including tight deadlines, precise compliance requirements, and the need to execute changes efficiently across multiple locations without disrupting trading operations.

The Approach

To meet these challenges, RAS adopted a structured and phased approach:

• Scoping and Trials: RAS carefully scoped the project and conducted trial implementations in select stores. These trials captured valuable insights to streamline the rollout process, ensuring efficiency and minimising disruption.
• Rolling Project Delivery Plan: A rolling delivery plan was created with an “implementation week minus 3” principle. A dedicated Project Manager oversaw the phased schedule, incorporating store-specific layouts to tailor the implementation process.

• Store Implementation: Within each store, the project included:

– Category de-merchandising.

– Fixture installations.

– Equipment cleaning.

– Re-merchandising in compliance with HFSS requirements.

– Application of shelf-edge labels to finalised product locations.

• Digital Sign-Off: Each store’s changes were digitally signed off for KPI performance reporting ensuring full accountability.