Mapping the food retail and out of home sector in Northern Ireland
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) recently commissioned CADA Consulting to investigate the food retail and out of home sector in Northern Ireland (NI). In particular, this research examined businesses in NI that would be in scope of legislation currently in place in England, and legislated for in Wales (coming into force March 2026) and in Scotland (coming into force October 2026) to restrict the promotion of food high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS).

In England, restrictions on the location of HFSS products apply to retail businesses with 50 or more employees and with a store size of 2,000 square feet or greater, and came into force on 1 October 2022. Volume price restrictions (e.g. multibuy offers) apply to retail businesses with 50 or more employees and came into force on 1 October 2025. Restrictions on free refill promotions of HFSS beverages apply to out of home businesses with 50 or more employees and came into force on 1 October 2025.

This application provides key information from the study to allow for further exploration of the data.

Further details can be found in the report and at FSA's website. For more information, please contact dietaryhealthNI@food.gov.uk

Instructions for use

Select the topic of interest using the side menu. A summary of content is detailed below:
  • Overview (this page)
  • Grocery retailers
    • Details of grocery retailers in scope of location and volume price restrictions
  • Non-grocery retailers
    • Details of non-grocery retailers in scope of location and volume price restrictions
  • Out of home businesses
    • Details of out of home businesses in scope of restrictions on free refill promotions of HFSS beverages
Note that locations of retailers are indicative and provided for illustrative purposes only.

Interacting with the maps

Maps can be explored in the following ways:
  • Panning: hold left button while moving mouse
  • Zoom: use mouse scroll wheel or pinch on touchscreens
  • Tooltips: hover over map items for further information

Limitations

There are a number of limitations with the data and methods used in this study. These are outlined below:
  • The FHRS data does not provide detailed information about each business, such as its specific business type and if it belongs to a chain, franchise or symbol group. Therefore, in this study, only businesses that state their association with a chain or franchise in their business name were identified as those with over 50 employees. As such, there may be a number of premises, particularly grocery retail premises, that would be in scope of location and volume restrictions that have not been identified in this assessment.
  • Franchisees trading as a business under a franchise agreement, no matter how formal or informal, would be considered to have the number of employees of the overarching franchise. This interpretation also applies to symbol group retailers, even though many of these businesses are independently owned and their contracts with the symbol groups may not include access to the group's promotional offers.
  • Estimation of premises' floor areas has been undertaken using a conservative approach that will over-estimate the number of premises that would be in scope of location restrictions.

Data sources

The data used in this study was as follows:
  • Businesses: The FSA's Food Hygiene Rating Scheme was used to identify grocery retailers, non-grocery retailers, out of home food businesses and their locations. Data was captured 7/11/2024.
  • Secondary schools: The Department of Education online school database was used to identify appropriate secondary schools and their locations. Data was captured 14/12/2024.
  • Premises floor areas: Floors areas for food retailer premises were taken from Land and Property Services Enhanced Non-Domestic Property Data, and extrapolated for premises that could not be cross-referenced. Data was captured 17/02/25.
Grocery retailers
In England, legislation was introduced to restrict the promotion of HFSS products by location for retailers with 50 or more employees and a store size of 2,000 square feet or greater; and volume price for retailers with 50 or more employees.

The following findings give an indication of grocery retailers in scope of these restrictions if they were applied in Northern Ireland. In addition, a sensitivity study is presented that assessed retailers with 50 or more employees and a store size of 3,000 square feet or greater to align with Northern Ireland Sunday trading legislation.

Note that locations of businesses are indicative and provided for illustrative purposes only.

Due to limitations with the source data, there may be some premises in scope of restrictions that have not been identified in this assessment. Please see the Overview page for more details.

Total grocery retail premises
1,606
Total grocery retail premises in scope of volume restrictions
1,004
Select data to display on map:
All grocery retail premises
  • All grocery retail premises
  • Grocery retail premises in scope of volume restrictions
Grocery retailers in scope of volume restrictions
Total grocery retail premises in scope of volume restrictions
1,004
Percentage of total premises across NI
62.5%
Grocery retailers in scope of volume restrictions by Local Government District
Grocery retailers in scope of location restrictions
Total grocery retail premises in scope of location restrictions
 734
Percentage of total premises across NI
45.7%
Sensitivity study: Grocery retailers with 50 or more employees and premises floor area 3,000ft2 or greater
Total premises 3,000ft2 or greater for grocery retailers with 50 or more employees
 584
Percentage of total premises across NI
36.4%
Non-grocery retailers
In England, legislation was introduced to restrict the promotion of HFSS products by location for retailers with 50 or more employees and a store size of 2,000 square feet or greater; and volume price for retailers with 50 or more employees.

The following findings give an indication of non-grocery retailers in scope of these restrictions if they were applied in Northern Ireland. In addition, a sensitivity study is presented that assessed retailers with 50 or more employees and a store size of 3,000 square feet or greater to align with Northern Ireland Sunday trading legislation.

Note that locations of businesses are indicative and provided for illustrative purposes only.

Due to limitations with the source data, there may be some premises in scope of restrictions that have not been identified in this assessment. Please see the Overview page for more details.

Total non-grocery retail premises
1,801
Total non-grocery retail premises in scope of volume restrictions
 672
Select data to display on map:
All non-grocery retail premises
  • All non-grocery retail premises
  • Non-grocery retail premises in scope of volume restrictions
Non-grocery retailers in scope of volume restrictions
Total non-grocery retail premises in scope of volume restrictions
 672
Percentage of total premises across NI
37.3%
Non-grocery retailers in scope of volume restrictions by Local Government District
Non-grocery retailers in scope of location restrictions
Total non-grocery retail premises in scope of location restrictions
 393
Percentage of total premises across NI
21.8%
Sensitivity study: Non-grocery retailers with 50 or more employees and premises floor area 3,000ft2 or greater
Total premises 3,000ft2 or greater for non-grocery retailers with 50 or more employees
 299
Percentage of total premises across NI
16.6%
Out of home businesses
In England, legislation was introduced to restrict free refill promotions of sugar-sweetened HFSS beverages in out of home businesses with 50 or more employees.

The following findings give an indication of out of home businesses in scope of these restrictions if they were applied in Northern Ireland.

Note that locations of businesses are indicative and provided for illustrative purposes only.

Due to limitations with the source data, there may be some premises in scope of restrictions that have not been identified in this assessment. Please see the Overview page for more details.

Total out of home business premises
5,898
Total out of home business premises in scope of restrictions on free drink refill promotions
 641
Select data to display on map:
All out of home business premises
  • All out of home business premises
  • Out of home business premises in scope of restrictions on free drink refill promotions
Out of home businesses in scope of restrictions on free drink refill promotions
Total out of home business premises in scope of restrictions on free drink refill promotions
 641
Percentage of total premises across NI
10.9%
Out of home businesses in scope of restrictions on free drink refill promotions by Local Government District