An Instagram advert for KitKat cream puffs by Yo! Sushi UK has become the latest to fall foul of less healthy food promotion regulations.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint about the restaurant chain’s paid-for ad seen on 28 April 2026, which promoted a limited-edition chocolate cream puff with KitKat finger made in collaboration with Nestlé UK for the Easter period.
It comes after new rules were introduced on 5 January that restrict the advertising of identifiably less healthy food and drink products – ie. high in fat, sugar, or salt (HFSS) – either online or on TV before a 9pm watershed. Last month, the restrictions saw adverts for the Domino’s UK & Ireland Cheeky Little Pizza range banned following complaints to the ASA.
The Yo! Sushi Instagram ad had featured a sequence of animated images including one with large text stating the cream puff was “better than an egg”. The screen then changed to say KitKat’s slogan, “Have a break”, with further text adding “from tradition”. Beneath the animation, text stated “Made with KitKat Cream Puff” alongside a button labelled “Learn more”.
Available at all of Yo! Sushi’s UK locations, the cream puff (rsp: £5.50) combined light choux pastry with smooth chocolate cream, KitKat crumbs, KitKat sauce and the a KitKat finger. It was classified as HFSS, falling within the less healthy food Category 9 described in law as “Desserts & puddings”.
Bite Back, a youth-led health campaign group, challenged whether the post breached the Code because it was paid-for advertising with an identifiable less healthy food product placed on the internet. Under the new ad restrictions, brands are allowed to promote themselves and their range but not a specific HFSS product.
Although the ad did not show any images of the cream puff itself, the ASA noted the messaging of “Made with KitKat cream puff” remained on screen throughout and so ruled to uphold the complaint.
Yo! Sushi UK said it had intended to promote its brand collaboration with KitKat, and had no written agreement with Nestlé UK in relation to the ad nor had it made any payments to the company – it had only committed to purchasing the relevant KitKat ingredients through third-party suppliers. Moreover, it claimed the “Made with KitKat cream puff” wording had been added in error late in the sign-off process.
The restaurant chain accepted it was solely responsible for the breach of ad regulations and confirmed that steps had been taken to ensure the issue would not be repeated.
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