CCEP: Score big this World Cup
ADVERTORIAL
With previous tournaments generating a 4% uplift in UK grocery spend [1], the FIFA World Cup 2026™ offers wholesalers a tournament to celebrate, says Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
This year, the FIFA World Cup 2026™ promises to be the biggest yet, spanning three host countries over 39 days and 104 matches with 48 teams taking part. All of this means one thing: a huge opportunity for wholesalers and their customers to capture last-minute purchases and mission-driven shopping occasions.
Sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup 2026™ offer convenience retailers and, therefore, wholesalers a fantastic chance to fully embrace the nation’s excitement as families and friends gather to watch the matches at home, creating the ultimate big night in.
“Major sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup 2026™ represent one of the biggest retail opportunities in the calendar, driven by their ability to bring together mass audiences and create highly engaged consumption moments across the day,” says Steve Marks, Associate Director, Away From Home Environment Lead, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.
“This is where convenience retailers are uniquely advantaged. Their proximity and accessibility mean they are perfectly positioned to capture last-minute purchases, with shoppers often turning to their local stores to complete their match day baskets.”
This year, research by Savvy has revealed that 56% of engaged shoppers will be watching the tournament from their own living room, partly driven by the late kick-off times. And this is music to wholesaler and retailer ears, as customers will be looking to stock up on soft drinks and snacks, and where better than their local convenience store.
And, with gatherings taking place with friends, family or colleagues, the tournament looks set to influence the nation, not least with its new ‘hydration breaks’. Each match will have a three-minute hydration break in each half, with the referee stopping play 22 minutes into each half to allow the players to rehydrate.
POWERADE FIFA PLAYSTYLES
To bring energy to retailers’ shelves, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners launched Powerade FIFA Playstyles – a new limitededition range that brings the energy of football to shelves ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026™. Powerade continues to outperform the total advanced hydration category [2], with value sales up 25.9% year-on-year [3], reinforcing its position as the number two sports drink brand in GB [4].
Designed to stand out in the chiller, the 500ml range taps into the growing demand for hydration and functional benefits [4], offering flavours linked to roles on the pitch including Attack – a spicy citrus variant with a mild kick – and Defend – a refreshing floral citrus option.
The launch will also be supported by an instant-win promotion across 500ml Berry & Mango, 4x500ml Berry & Mango and 2x500ml Playstyles, with thousands of squeeze bottles, footballs and drawstring bags up for grabs.
Rob Yeomans, Vice-President, Commercial Development at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners GB, says: “Football, and especially the FIFA World Cup™, is one of the most powerful cultural moments for shoppers, delivering both mass reach and real commercial impact in store. With the tournament set to be the biggest ever, reaching billions of fans globally, it provides a huge platform for retailers to engage shoppers at scale.
“With Playstyles, we’re bringing something genuinely new to the fixture, using bold flavour innovation to tap into that excitement and give shoppers a reason to engage with the category. Combined with our on-pack promotion and the scale of our global campaign, this is a major opportunity to drive sales across key match day and social occasions.”
PEEL, SIP, COLLECT!
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners has collaborated with Panini – the tournament’s exclusive partner for official stickers and trading cards – to support wholesalers and retailers to tap into this huge sporting moment, rolling out a collectable sticker experience embedded directly within select Coca-Cola bottle labels.
Shoppers can peel back the label to reveal one of 12 exclusive stickers featuring star players from 10 countries, designed to be added to a dedicated Coca-Cola page in the Official FIFA World Cup 2026™ Sticker Album. There is also a host of digital activities to engage with, including a digital sticker collection.
“This creates a strong collectability mechanic, giving consumers a clear reason to purchase repeatedly as they build their collections over time,” adds Marks.
“For retailers, this delivers clear benefits through increased footfall, stronger shopper engagement and more dynamic in-store theatre during the tournament period.”
(Sources: [1] Nielsen, 2022; [2] NIQ Discover MAT w/c 04.10.25; [3] NielsenIQ Discover, YTD 2026; [4] GlobalData, Global Soft Drinks Market, Trends and Implications for Europe [Feb 2026])
KEY FOOTBALL EVENTS ARE PROVEN TO DRIVE CATEGORY SALES
During the Euros 2020 tournament:
Soft drinks were the top-selling impulse category, worth £1095.9m
(Source: NielsenIQ Scantrack, Total Coverage, Latest 6 weeks, w/e 17.07.21)
£23m – CCEP added more growth than all other major suppliers and private-label combined
(Source: Total value sales of CCEP within Total Core Sparkling in Total GB in 6 w/e 17.07.21 versus 6 w/e 05.06.21)
Cola delivered 56.3% of core sparkling value growth
(Source: Analysis of colas value sales performance within Total Core Sparkling in Total GB in 6 w/e 17.07.21 versus 6 w/e 05.06.21)
Soft drinks saw 9% sales uplift in on-premise
(Source: CGA Managed EPOS data to 14.07.24)
