Yo! Sushi advert banned following 'HSFF' blunder

A complaint has been upheld against a YO! Sushi advert with the high street staple admitting it broke HSFF regulations with its flash-in-the-pan sweet-treat promotion.

On 5 January, the UK government introduced new regulations to restrict the location and promotion of 'less healthy food and drink products'.

Items that are either ‘identifiable’ as being high in fat, salt, or sugar under the Department of Health's nutrient profiling model can no longer appear on television between 5.30am and 9pm.

They are also restricted from in-demand programme services between 5.30am and 9pm and cannot appear in paid online media at any time.

On 12 August, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) shared its verdict on a limited-time YO! Sushi advert.

The advert originally shared on social media was deemed to violate the strict HSFF rules.

YO! Sushi has been penalised for breaking HSFF rules (YO! Sushi)

The Easter-themed, paid-for Instagram post, seen on 28 April, was designed to promote its exclusive KitKat-themed dessert: a Chocolate Cream Puff.

Described as featuring a ‘sequence of animated images’, the advert included the phrase ‘better than an egg’ in white lettering on a red and gold background with cherry blossoms.

The famous KitKat slogan, ‘Have a break’, then appeared alongside ‘from tradition’.

“An overlaid text box stated, ‘Have a break from tradition,’ and further text stated, ‘YO! yosushi.com’, beneath the animation, text stated, ‘Made with KITKAT® Cream Puff’ alongside a button labelled ‘Learn more’.”

The ASA stated that the social media advert featured both YO! and KitKat logos.

Bite Back, a youth-led movement challenging junk food marketing and campaigning for a healthier food system, challenged whether the advert breached the Code.

Yo! Sushi advert ‘violated’ Code

Following an investigation, the ASA reasoned that the Chocolate Cream Puff was a product either high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS)

It was therefore concluded that the YO! promotion was a ‘paid ad for identifiable less healthy food products placed on the internet’, therefore violating Code rule 15.19

The UK advertising restriction violation was upheld despite the original advert not including images of the food.

Instead, the ASA found fault with the text ‘Made with KitKat cream puff’ remaining on the screen throughout and the presence of both YO! and KitKat logos.

It wrote that consumers could ‘reasonably be expected to identify that the ad was for the YO! and KitKat brands, including ‘less healthy’ products, and additionally for the Chocolate Cream Puff made with KitKat menu item’.

The Chocolate Cream Puff was a limited time menu item (YO! Sushi)

As the paid ad was found in breach of the Code, the ASA informed the chain that it may not run again in the form it was complained of.

“We told YO! Sushi UK Ltd t/a YO! to ensure their paid ads on the internet were not for identifiable less healthy foods, such as through the inclusion of text that depicted a specific less healthy food product,” the filing added.

Yo! Sushi response to Code violation

The group has accepted that while no specific food imagery was included in the limited-time Eater promotion, the ‘Made with KITKAT Cream Puff’ text ‘had the effect of depicting’ it.

However, it was argued that they it had tried to ‘promote their brand collaboration with the KitKat brand, rather than a specific product’.

YO! Sushi also claimed the version of the ad it had signed off on with their digital agency had not included the damaging text.

The chain issued a response to the Code violation (Getty Stock Image)

“Those words had been added in error late in the sign-off process, and their inclusion was not identified before the ad went live,” the filing read.

Moreover, YO! claimed it had ‘no written agreement with Nestlé UK Ltd (Nestlé) in relation to the ad’; no payments had been made between the two parties.

The company insisted it had committed to purchasing the ‘relevant KitKat ingredients through third-party procurement partners’.

However, YO! said they had since ‘taken steps to ensure the issue would not be repeated’.

In a statement to The Grocer, the buisness added: “In April 2026, Yo included text within an Instagram post which inadvertently breached new advertising rules for food and drink.

"Yo acknowledges the error and accepts the ruling from the ASA. Yo is committed to responsible marketing in compliance with the UK CAP code and LHF advertising restrictions.”

FOODbible has contacted YO! Sushi for further comment.