Twelve food and drink businesses across Scotland have been awarded funding through Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Scotland’s Reformulation for Health Programme, supporting efforts to make a wide range of products healthier ahead of incoming regulation.
The successful companies – Aldomak, The Bread Guys Bakery, David Comrie & Son, Ingram Brothers, Jess Fine Foods, Kinnaird Kitchen, Rowan Glen, Shaws Fine Meats, Slow Sauce, Strathmore Foods, Taylors Snacks and The Victor Pizza Co – will each receive up to £5,000 to support reformulation projects.
The funding will be used to improve the nutritional profile of products spanning categories such as pizza, macaroni cheese, sausages, burgers and meat pies, as well as cakes, crisps and oat bars. Many of these items are sold across retail, hospitality and public sector settings, including schools.
Delivered by FDF Scotland and funded by Food Standards Scotland (FSS), the programme aims to help businesses reduce their Nutrient Profile Model (NPM) scores. This will support compliance with forthcoming High in Fat, Sugar or Salt (HFSS) regulations and enable manufacturers to adapt to changing market and policy demands.
Public Health Minister Maree Todd said: “The Reformulation Challenge Fund is helping to accelerate progress by food and drink manufacturers to reduce levels of fat, sugar and salt in their products.
“Their support to businesses across Scotland is a vital step towards helping people access healthier food choices. I look forward to seeing the impact of these projects in the months ahead and the positive impact they will have on improving diets.”
Joanne Burns, Reformulation for Health Manager at FDF Scotland, highlighted both the opportunity and complexity of reformulation.
She said: “I am delighted to provide 12 of Scotland’s iconic food and drink businesses with funding to make their popular food and drinks products healthier.
“Reformulating products to make them delicious, nutritious and safe can be very resource and time heavy. The Reformulation for Health Programme offers one-to-one support to help businesses navigate these challenges and develop healthier versions of commonly consumed products that can improve the health of Scotland’s people.
“This funding will assist businesses with the associated costs of reformulation, including nutritional testing, trialling recipes, process changes and technical support.
“The successful projects reflect a range of business drivers. Some are looking to improve their NPM score to meet non-HFSS criteria, while others aim to achieve salt reduction targets or respond to retailer and consumer demand for healthier products.
“We look forward to supporting these projects and sharing their achievements in the coming months.”
Laura Wilson, Head of Public Health Nutrition at FSS, added: “Ensuring everyone has access to healthier, more affordable food has never been more vital to improving public health.
“To achieve that, we need to focus on improving the food environment that surrounds us and shapes what we eat to put healthier food in reach of everyone.
“Improving the nutritional content of products means that everyone can benefit, without the need for consciously making different choices. That’s why FSS is proud to support the Reformulation for Health Programme to provide direct support to industry to help make healthier food a reality for more people.”
The Nutrient Profile Model assesses the balance of nutrients within a product, weighing factors such as saturated fat, salt, sugar and calories against beneficial components including fibre, fruit, vegetables and protein. It is used to determine whether a product is classified as HFSS.
From 1 October 2026, The Food (Promotion and Placement) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 will introduce new restrictions on the promotion and placement of HFSS products across 13 categories. These include limits on prominent in-store positioning such as aisle ends and checkouts, as well as restrictions on volume promotions including multi-buy and buy-one-get-one-free offers.
Seasonal and provenance-based promotions, including those linked to Burns Night, St Andrew’s Day and Christmas, will also be affected.
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Categories in scope include soft drinks with added sugar, confectionery, breakfast cereals, yoghurts and desserts, cakes and biscuits, savoury snacks, pizza, ready meals and potato products such as chips.
Businesses interested in accessing reformulation support can contact FDF Scotland at reformulation@fdfscotland.org.uk.
