New research from the University of Waterloo highlights the prominence of kid-focused marketing displays for unhealthy food and beverages across Canada, as well as how the efficacy of their advertising techniques has affected children’s health.

The report, which was funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation, compiles data from more than 2,000 restaurants and 800 stores across the country. It details how food and beverage companies employ various marketing tactics geared directly towards children.

“We were astonished to see the pervasiveness of marketing to kids in stores and restaurants across Canada,” says Dr. Leia Minaker, PhD, associate professor at the university and author of the report. “While we expected to see marketing to kids in Canadian stores, we were surprised by the breadth of techniques employed by food and beverage marketers.”

Using findings from eight provinces and two territories, the report showed the most common marketing technique was the use of child themes and designs, followed by the use of branded characters.

“We see marketers using bright colours, images, and other design elements that are commonly associated with children, such as magic, adventure, and zoo animals,” says Dr. Minaker. “These themes and designs appeared in many places, including on one-third of beverage fridges and two-thirds of ice cream fridges.”

In fact, the report states children are exposed to a significant amount of advertising before they even enter a store. Half the ads outside of stores and 41 per cent outside restaurants used at least one child-directed marketing technique. This trend continues within stores, with displays in the middle of aisles featuring child themes and branded characters. The research found, on average, there are nine of these displays per store.

However, one of the most prominent locations for kid-focused marketing is the checkout, with items displayed at their eye level and within their reach. This placement encourages “pester power,” which persuades parents to make an impulse purchase—one of the reasons marketing to kids is effective. The report found 84 per cent of stores had gum and candy available at the checkout, while only six per cent had fruit and only two per cent had vegetables.

The prevalence and efficacy of kid-focused marketing has led to increased consumption of unhealthy foods and sugary drinks. Currently, Canadian children aged nine to 13 are getting almost 60 per cent of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods, which are high in salt, sugars, and saturated fat.

“Given the high proportion of child-directed marketing observed in both stores and restaurants, it’s clear policies aimed to restrict marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to kids should include point-of-sale locations,” says Doug Roth, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation.