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Adding calorie labelling to your menu

What is calorie labelling legislation?

Launched in 2022, as part of a wider plan to tackle obesity, the government introduced legislation to implement mandatory calorie labelling on non-packaged food and soft drinks at the ‘point of choice’ among large food businesses (businesses with 250 or more employees) in the out of home sector.

Food and drink that is prepacked is already required to display nutritional information, meaning consumers are familiar with seeing calorie content on the majority of items sold in the retail sector, such as supermarkets and convenience stores.

In contrast, the out of home sector typically sells non-prepacked food and is therefore not required to display nutritional information. This makes it difficult for consumers to make informed, healthier decisions when purchasing food and drinks from such businesses.

Calorie labelling legislation is intended to help consumers make healthier decisions, and aims to encourage businesses to reformulate the food and drink they offer to provide lower calorie options for their customers.

Businesses with fewer than 250 employee’s are not subject to the regulatory requirement at this time, however are encouraged by the government to also voluntarily adopt calorie labelling in order to support consumers to make healthier food and drink choices.

Here's your guide to driving visibility of healthier choices on menu in 6 simple steps

STEP 1: Understand the legislation and if it impacts your business

If your business is in scope of the legislation, or you are looking to voluntarily adopt calorie labelling in order to support consumers to make healthier choices, then you will need to display the following information to comply with government guidance:

  • The energy content of the food or drink in kilocalories (kcal)
  • The size of the portion to which the calorie information relates
  • The statement ‘adults need around 2000 kcal a day’

Also consider how you will account for ice and garnishes when calculating the calorie information for soft drinks

STEP 2: Help your guests to make informed choices

69% of soft drinks consumers ‘agree’ that they would like to see more healthy soft drinks on offer

Calorie labelling legislation gives your customers the information they need to be able to make an informed choice about their health.​

​Whilst only non-packaged food and soft drinks are in scope of the legislation, consider if you are able to provide calorie content across other areas of your menu too, to make it even easier for customers to make the right choice for them.

STEP 3: Lead the way to low calorie and zero sugar

50% of the population are actively reducing their sugar intake

The use of colour, shapes and icons will break up the menu and make it easy for zero sugar or low calorie choices to be located

STEP 4: Perfect Pairings

Taste is the No.1 driver of soft drinks purchase

Tempting taste descriptors and imagery will drive desire for the low calorie options that are showcased on the menu

STEP 5: Maximum Taste without the compromise

Demonstrate to your customers that healthier alternatives don’t have to come at a compromise on taste by calling this out as part of your menu

STEP 6: Inspire through taste descriptors and imagery

Tempting taste descriptors and imagery will drive desire for the low calorie options that are showcased on the menu

Need new menus?

Use our free Menu Creator tool and add your calorie labelling to each of your items. We'll even print & post 50 copies FREE!

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This guidance is intended to work alongside the Government guidance and the legislation itself. Information to compile what we have outlined has been taken from the currently published Government guidance or is Britvic’s interpretation of aspects of the legislation and therefore does not constitute legal advice.

A full overview of the Government guidance can be found below:

Calorie labelling in the out of home sector: implementation guidance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/calorie-labelling-in-the-out-of-home-sector/calorie-labelling-in-the-out-of-home-sector-implementation-guidance

The Calorie Labelling (Out of Home Sector) (England) Regulations 2021 (legislation.gov.uk)

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/909/contents/made