Festive Influencing: What HFSS Brands Need to Know

The festive season is the perfect time for food and drink brands to get creative on social and leverage influencer marketing to drive awareness. Cosy recipe posts, seasonal treats and indulgent hot chocolates – this is the kind of content that really resonates.

However, if your product is HFSS (high in fat, salt or sugar) and you were planning on gifting influencers or running paid ads, new UK legislation coming into effect in January changes the rules.

Before You DM, Learn the Dos & Don’ts

The new rules mean HFSS brands can no longer pay influencers to promote specific products. This includes sponsored posts, gifted items where a post is expected, affiliate links, or any creator content boosted through paid advertising. Even organic mentions can become non-compliant if a creator has received any form of reward or incentive for featuring the product.

The ban doesn’t prevent brands from working with influencers entirely. There are still plenty of ways to run engaging festive campaigns that meet both marketing goals and compliance requirements.

Festive, Fun, and Fully Compliant

Paid collaborations can still go ahead if the focus is on the brand rather than the product. For example, sharing behind-the-scenes stories, sustainability initiatives or general lifestyle content that doesn’t directly promote an HFSS item.

Festive campaigns should feel warm, fun, and engaging. Lean into storytelling and connecting the brand to cosy winter moments to tap into emotive feelings and cut through the noise in the run-up to Christmas.

Choose the Right Influencers

It’s tempting to go for influencers with the biggest following, but size isn’t everything. Look for creators whose content is high-quality, authentic and audience relevant. Looking at creators’ engagement rates is also a powerful tool to understand how much their audience genuinely cares about what they share and what brands they enjoy, rather than just scrolling past and therefore an indicator on how well content may perform.

Reaching out to influencers or finding tools to analyse follower demographics are essential here to ensure the content isn’t targeting under-16s.

A Cut-through Christmas Campaign

The creator knows their audience best, so working collaboratively with them on the content brief will deliver a stronger campaign. The focus isn’t just on looking festive but feeling relevant. Audiences are increasingly values-led, so sustainable gifting and authentic proof of ethical practices resonate far more than box-ticking statements. Experiences are outperforming “stuff”, meaning products that slot naturally into shared moments like a dinner party, a Christmas Eve ritual or a cosy friends’ night in, feel more giftable. Social commerce will continue to accelerate, so leaning into festive live influencer takeovers can be an interesting way to turn inspiration into instant purchase.

Sleigh Your Targeting

This is where Nexus comes into its own. We combine regulatory know-how with influencer expertise to deliver campaigns that are both impactful and compliant.

We can help you:

• Pick the right creators for your brand and audience
• Craft festive messaging and campaigns that are engaging and compliant
• Manage amplification across owned and earned channels

With the right strategy, creative and compliance in place, festive influencer campaigns can boost brand visibility and delight your audience – all without stress or risk. Want to know more? Get in touch.

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