Each month the Sharp team saves you time by rounding up some of the latest trends and insights from the world of food and drink. It’s designed to help brand founders like you use trends, fine-tune your messaging and increase your brand awareness.
Ultra-processed foods, ultra-processed babies, and short ingredient lists have all been making headlines recently – not to mention all the conversations sparked on LinkedIn – so we thought it was time to bring you the Sharp Bites Ultra-Processed Special Edition.
Nourishing Britain
We were excited to sit in on Dr Dolly van Tulleken’s talk at Food & Drink Expo this month. Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy, commissioned in 2019 and published in 2021, was meant to be a turning point in addressing obesity and diet-related illness in the UK. Four years on, almost none of its recommendations have been enacted.
Dr Dolly (co-author of Nourishing Britain with Henry Dimbleby and husband to Dr Xand van Tulleken) outlined why the strategy stalled, drawing on extensive interviews with former health ministers.
Here are some of the top takeaways:
Why policy fails:
- 30 years, 14 strategies, 689 policies—yet no drop in obesity.
- “Nanny State” stigma: Governments want to avoid appearing controlling.
- Business vs. politics: Industry lobbying and conflicts of interest.
- Lack of urgency: Slow-burn crisis often sidelined.
- Disjointed governance: Fragmented responsibility across departments.
- Class and food culture: In the UK, affordable food often means unhealthy food, unlike in countries like Spain or Italy.
Ironically, we noticed that a large part of the Expo was dominated by HFSS snack brands and vape products—highlighting the problem.
A rare win: the Sugar Tax
Dr Dolly was keen to pull out the positive learnings of The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (2018), which succeeded as a result of:
- Framing as a finance bill—bypassing consultation delays.
- High-profile support from figures like Jamie Oliver.
The Results: over 35% sugar reduction and reformulation by manufacturers (OK so it’s not perfect – we’ve seen an increase in the use of artificial sweeteners).
Though it’s not a cure-all, it shows how smart policy can shift public health.
How can the industry support?
- Producers & retailers: Reassess your impact when it comes to ingredients, nutrition, packaging and marketing – watch out for erroneous health claims.
- Everyone: Support regulation—write to MPs, speak out, better still why not share a copy of Nourishing Britain with your MP!
Ultra-Processed Babies
Did you read Bee Wilson’s searing Guardian exposé on UK baby food aisles? It hit a nerve in the Sharp office. Once a space for nutrition, the baby aisle is now a “snacktopia” of brightly packaged, ultra-processed finger foods—low in veg, high in fat, and far from what they promise. Fruit pouches and follow-on milks? Sugar bombs in disguise. Parents, who just want to do the best they can for their children, are unknowingly traversing a minefield.
The BBC’s Panorama followed suit with a deep dive investigation into baby food pouches just this week. It was uncomfortable viewing. The programme highlighted the need for more regulation from Government to create rid the supermarket shelves of pouches that are high in sugar, low in key nutrients like iron and vitamin C and ultra-processed.
As Wilson asks: How bad does it need to get before the Government steps in to protect our youngest eaters?
The Good News?
Short Ingredients, Big Buzz
M&S stirred social media with a new “short ingredients” range—single-ingredient breads, cereals, and oat drinks. Gimmick or genius? While simple labels appeal, critics note these stripped-back products may also lack key nutrients. Simplification and ingredient transparency definitely feels like something we as consumers can buy into.
Freddie’s Farm: revolutionising baby food
Charles Fermor, a Kent based farmer and co-founder of fruit and vegetable kids snacking brand Freddie’s Farm, has patented a method that is designed to minimise potentially harmful free sugars which are a direct result of the high levels of processing in fruit and veg-led baby food. The new method prioritises minimal processing of fresh whole fruit and veg to preserve the bond between the naturally occurring sugars in fruit and fibre, resulting in a snack with fewer free sugars. It’s a game-changer for those high in sugar, lacking in nutrition baby food pouches—if others adopt it. The question is will the Government act to regulate?
Hear more on UPFs and the need for a step change from Charles’ wife Laurie Fermor on the Food Rebels podcast, episode: “The Food Processing Debate.”
Zoe’s Risk Scale: A Smarter UPF Conversation
We were interested to read about Zoe’s new Processed Food Risk Scale, which rates foods from no to high risk based on additives, energy density, and hyper-palatability. It offers a more nuanced view of UPFs—aimed at helping consumers choose better and nudging producers to clean up their products.
HFSS brands: Go viral or reformulate
With the HFSS ad ban looming, it’s the HFSS brands still making waves. As The Grocer reports, snacks like Takis Blue Heat are blowing up on TikTok—becoming the fastest-growing snack brand despite “eye-watering” nutrition (9.8g sat fat, 1.7g salt per 100g). Expect more brands to chase viral fame —or reformulate to get back into the impulse transactional zones in store.
Next Issue
In our next issue: Focus on Changes to the Sugar Levy for Dairy Drinks & the Packaging Levy and how it will affect food and drink businesses.
We hope you enjoyed our SHARP Bites digest. Please do share with colleagues and industry contacts.
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