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To you, it’s a snap decision made in the supermarket aisle: you choose something you want to eat, and you buy it. But there’s a complex web of psychology behind that choice, the threads of which began long before you entered the supermarket, thanks to the subconscious power of advertising, marketing and savvy product placement.

But the impact of that advertising isn’t always positive when it comes to influencing buying decisions around less healthy food.

Nearly two-thirds of adults in the UK are living with excess weight, 30% are classified as obese and 36% of 10- to 11-year-olds are overweight or living with obesity. A review published in The British Journal of Nutrition notes a significant association reported between food advertising exposure and greater body fatness and BMI percentile.

Advertising products high in fat, salt and sugar

Families with kids face a particularly tough challenge as junk food advertising has become the “wallpaper” of everyday life. While earlier this year adverts for food high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) were banned on television before 9pm and online at all times, children are still exposed to adverts for sugary and salty foods on billboards, gaming platforms and – until the proposed under-16 ban comes in next year – on social media.

According to Cancer Research UK’s Digital Influence study, which surveyed more than 4,000 young people aged 11 to 21, more than half (52%) said they’d seen posts promoting HFSS products on social media in the past month. The impact on their health is plain to see: one study by the University of Liverpool found that seven- to 15-year-olds eat significantly more calories in a day after watching just five minutes of junk food advertising.

The techniques marketers are using to sell these foods are very clever and highly effective. So what if they were deployed to make healthier foods more visible and attractive? Indeed, a review looking at nudge theory – the idea that small adjustments to an environment can guide people toward better decisions – found health-related nudges were responsible for a 15% increase in healthier diet and nutritional choices.

Of course, creating a system that puts the nation’s health first requires action from brands, retailers, schools and policymakers. It’s something the youth-led movement Bite Back has been campaigning for as an organisation tackling the ways young people are targeted by junk food marketing.

A 2025 report by Bite Back found that 35% of schools had at least one HFSS advert within 400 metres of their gates, and that such ads were captured at a rate more than six times greater in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived.

How supermarkets can drive change

Working with Bite Back is the UK charity Nesta, which designs and tests solutions to tackle societal inequalities. Parita Doshi, director of Nesta’s healthy life mission, suggests supermarkets could help mitigate the effectiveness of junk food advertising in deprived areas. “Supermarket food makes up the majority of the calories people buy, so grocery retailers can play an outsize role in making healthier options more visible and affordable,” she says.

Indeed, a study of 3,000 shoppers found that 82% of purchase decisions were made while in a store, outlining how important in-store signage is in making healthy foods visible and attractive. Creating an in-store environment that encourages healthy choices is something Tamara Rajah, group managing director of healthcare at Tesco, knows a lot about.

Tesco was the first major supermarket to remove all sweets and chocolate from checkouts at larger stores, and it stopped multibuy promotions on HFSS products years before government legislation made that the norm. Tesco also has strict marketing policies in place for its own brand range, for example, not using cartoon characters on products with an unhealthy nutrient profiling model score to deliberately target kids. But, as Rajah points out, efforts need to go further than restrictions. To her, this means “clear signposting such as in-store screens promoting healthier options, end-of-aisle promotions and allocating prime store space to healthy options”.

“We are taking a proactive approach to the way we highlight specific health benefits, like what makes up your five-a-day, or what’s high in fibre or protein,” she explains, “helping customers understand the nutritional benefits of what they are eating.”

Financial incentives and loyalty cards such as Tesco Clubcard, can play a powerful role here. One study found that people who were offered financial rewards ate on average 21g more fruit and vegetables per day. Tesco has introduced value initiatives like Fresh 5, which offers deals on five rotating fruit and veg items each week.

And last year, in response to customers’ concerns that cost, convenience and lack of confidence in the kitchen were making it harder to follow a healthy diet, Tesco launched its five-a-day campaign. As part of the campaign, about 2.5 million customers were invited to earn personalised Clubcard stamps on fresh fruit and veg, which could be converted to Clubcard points and vouchers. “We also launched Clubcard challenges where customers could earn extra points on frozen fruit and veg, beans and pulses,” says Rajah.

The need for a whole industry approach

“Healthy eating is becoming more important to our customers and their families,” she adds. “But they face several barriers to making this a reality, with the main barrier being affordability, followed by accessibility and inspiration.”

Rajah also wants to see a more consistent and regulated approach across the whole food system, for instance, with mandatory reporting of healthy food sales: “Retailers can only go so far in delivering the sustained behavioural change needed to transform the nation’s diet,” she says.

Still, Tesco continues to make inroads using positive food marketing techniques to signpost healthier choices in store, while its Fruit Giant advertising campaign highlights the supermarket’s commitment to giving a million children free fruit and veg. It has also strengthening its back-to-school policies to help busy parents make healthier choices for their children’s lunchboxes. Indeed, any products featured in Back to School or children’s lunchbox advertising will be free from artificial colours and flavours. They will also have a healthy nutrient profiling model score and not be high in fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar, unless naturally occurring or recognised as part of a healthy balanced diet, for example, items such as cheese and fruit. The supermarket is continually looking at ways to strengthen these policies.

“We need to make it easier for parents,” says Rajah. “Coordinated action at a national and industry level is needed to truly make a difference to families.”

Find out more about how Tesco can help you and your family eat more healthily at Tesco Recipes: For a little help making recipes you’ll all love