How HFSS Brands Can Still Win on Social Media Without Leading With the Product

HFSS regulations have fundamentally changed how many food and drink brands approach social media.

For brands that fall under the restrictions, the challenge is no longer just creating content people enjoy. It's finding ways to stay culturally relevant without relying on product-led messaging or promotional mechanics that could fall foul of the rules.

The good news? Some of the most successful social-first brands aren't winning because they show their products more often. They're winning because they've built an identity people want to engage with.

The best HFSS strategies don't ask, "How do we show the burger?"; they ask, "Why would someone follow us if they'd never bought one?"

Here's how brands can build a more creative, regulation-friendly social strategy.

Shift from product marketing to brand entertainment

The biggest mindset change is moving away from thinking every post needs to sell.

Your social channels don't exist to recreate an advert. They exist to build familiarity, personality and cultural relevance over time.

That means your content mix should become much broader than product photography or launch announcements.

Instead, think about what your audience already enjoys online and where your brand naturally fits into those conversations.

The product becomes part of the world you're building, not the only reason that world exists.

Build recurring social series

Recurring formats give people a reason to follow your account beyond the next campaign.

Think about content that could run every week rather than one-off ideas.

For example:

• Behind the scenes with your team
• "Day in the life" content
• Customer stories
• Weekly debates
• Staff favourites
• Myth-busting
• Community questions
• Unexpected facts
• Local store spotlights

People come back because they recognise the format, not because you're launching a new menu item.

Make your people the content

People connect with people.

Your chefs, restaurant teams, delivery drivers, founders and community managers are often more interesting than another perfectly lit product shot.

Content ideas include:

• Team challenges
• Staff introductions
• Favourite customer moments
• What happens before opening
• Kitchen routines
• Funny conversations between colleagues
• Employee recommendations
• Meet the manager series

These posts feel authentic while helping audiences connect with the brand on a more human level.

Lean into your community

One of the biggest missed opportunities for HFSS brands is underusing their existing community.

Customers create content every day.

They review meals, tell stories, share traditions and post memorable experiences.

With permission, that content can become:

• Customer spotlights
• Weekly fan features
• Community challenges
• Reactions
• Testimonials
• Creator collaborations
• User-generated content compilations

Instead of constantly talking about yourself, let your customers help tell the story.

Own a conversation, not just a category

The most memorable brands often become known for something beyond what they sell.

Ask yourself:

What conversations make sense for our audience?

A burger brand, for example, might naturally become known for:

• Late-night food culture
• Road trips
• Weekend traditions
• Friendship
• Student life
• Gaming nights
• Sports watch parties
• City recommendations

None of these require every post to centre on the product.

Instead, they build a lifestyle around the brand.

Turn everyday moments into entertainment

Not every piece of content needs a campaign budget.

Some of the strongest-performing social content comes from relatable observations.

Think about the small moments your audience already experiences.

For example:

• The friend who always steals your chips
• The group chat trying to decide where to eat
• The person who spends longer choosing sauces than their meal
• The family member who always changes their order
• The colleague who says they're "not hungry" before eating everyone else's food

These are the kinds of behaviours people instantly recognise and share with friends.

Become part of local culture

If you have physical locations, every restaurant has stories worth telling.

Highlight:

• Local events
• Community partnerships
• Staff charity work
• Neighbourhood recommendations
• Regional humour
• Local creators
• Store milestones

This makes the brand feel much more connected to the places it serves rather than simply broadcasting national campaigns.

Make comments part of the content

Community management shouldn't stop once a post goes live.

Some of the best content ideas come directly from comments.

A funny customer observation could become a Reel.

A frequently asked question could become a myth-busting video.

A running joke between your community and brand can become an ongoing series.

The comments section is often your biggest creative brainstorm.

Build content around occasions, not promotions

HFSS restrictions don't prevent brands from participating in culture.

Think beyond seasonal discounts.

Content opportunities could include:

• Festival season
• Bank holiday weekends
• Major sporting events
• Back to university
• Summer road trips
• Rainy day recommendations
• Movie nights
• National celebrations

The brand becomes part of the moment rather than interrupting it.

Use creators differently

Influencer marketing doesn't always need to revolve around a product review.

Creators can help tell stories, entertain audiences or showcase experiences.

Consider:

• Spending a shift with your team
• Behind-the-scenes restaurant tours
• Local area guides
• Staff interviews
• Community challenges
• Creator takeovers
• Day-in-the-life content

Audiences are often far more interested in the experience than a straightforward endorsement.

Build an ownable personality

When product-led marketing becomes more restricted, personality becomes one of your biggest competitive advantages.

Ask:

• How would someone describe your account in one sentence?
• Would people miss your content if it disappeared?
• Are you known for humour, storytelling, community, insight or entertainment?

The strongest social brands are remembered because they consistently make people feel something, not because every post contains a product.

Put the people behind the product centre stage

One of the smartest examples of this in recent years has come from Marks & Spencer.

Rather than relying solely on polished product photography, M&S has turned the people behind its food into some of its biggest social assets. Product developers, food technologists and buyers have become familiar faces across Instagram and TikTok, taking audiences behind the scenes of how products are created, taste-tested and refined before they ever reach the shelves.

Instead of simply announcing a new product, they're telling the story behind it.

Why was it developed? How many recipes were tested? Which ingredients didn't make the final version? What debates happened in the development kitchen? Those details transform a product launch into a piece of entertainment.

The people themselves become trusted personalities. Audiences begin recognising them, looking forward to their updates and feeling like they're getting exclusive access to something they wouldn't normally see.

For HFSS brands, there's a valuable lesson here.

The regulations may influence how prominently products can be featured in advertising, but they don't stop brands from showcasing the expertise, creativity and personalities behind the scenes.

Think beyond your menu.

Introduce the chef perfecting a new recipe. Let the innovation team explain where an idea came from. Follow a restaurant manager preparing for a busy Saturday. Show the quality team discussing how they taste and test new concepts. Give your audience a window into the decisions that happen before a product reaches the customer.

People are naturally curious about how things are made, and they connect with people far more readily than they connect with logos.

When your employees become recognisable faces, you're no longer relying solely on your products to build engagement. You're building trust, familiarity and personality around the brand itself.

In many ways, M&S hasn't just built a following for its food. It's built a following for the people responsible for creating it. That's a strategy every food brand, HFSS or otherwise, can learn from.

Creativity thrives within constraints

Restrictions often force better creative thinking.

Many of the most distinctive social brands have succeeded because they stopped relying on obvious promotional content and started investing in storytelling, community and entertainment.

HFSS regulations don't remove creativity. They simply encourage brands to find it somewhere else.

Instead of asking how often you can show your product, ask what role your brand plays in people's everyday lives.

The answer is usually much bigger than what's on the menu.

Final thoughts

The future of HFSS social media isn't about finding loopholes. It's about building brands that people genuinely want to follow.

The most successful strategies balance creativity with compliance by focusing on personality, community, culture and consistent storytelling rather than constant product promotion.

At Pepper, we help food and drink brands develop social-first strategies that work within regulatory frameworks without sacrificing creativity. Whether that's community management, creator partnerships, production or organic social, the goal is always the same: create content people would choose to engage with, regardless of what you're selling.

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