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Four ways food & drink brands can still win the world cup
The World Cup is one of the biggest cultural moments on the calendar. While the football takes centre stage, the tournament also shapes how people eat, drink, socialise and shop.
You don’t need an official sponsorship or TV budget to make the World Cup work for your brand. The opportunity lies in understanding how consumer behaviour shifts during major sporting tournaments and telling stories that carry on long after the final whistle.
The brands that win during major sporting moments aren't necessarily the loudest; they're the ones that create meaningful connections with retailers, operators and consumers.
Here are four ways food and drink brands can make the most of the tournament.
- Build around the occasion, not just the match
The World Cup is a cultural moment as much as a sporting one. It's the debriefs over drinks and late night takeaways with friends gathering around the TV. The brands that succeed understand these moments and make themselves part of them.
Whether it's a sharing platter, a themed menu, or limited-edition bundle deal in-store, the question should always be: how does our brand make this experience better? Get that right, and the trade story follows because a brand that helps retailers and operators own the occasion is the one they will want to stock and stay close to.
- Support retailers and operators to win, too
Major sporting events create opportunities for the entire industry ecosystem.
A major tournament is a planning headache as much as an opportunity. Retailers and operators have to predict demand, build displays, brief staff and bet on which products will move, all against a fixed deadline.
The brands that win shelf space and menu slots are rarely the loudest. They're the ones that turn up with a clear view of what shoppers will buy, ready-made occasion solutions, and the confidence that the product will sell. Do that, and you become a partner that buyers want to hear from, during the tournament and well after it.
- Win the conversation beyond the pitch
A tournament doesn't just play out on the pitch. It plays out across feeds, group chats, news sites and search results, and so does the story of every brand riding the moment.
For brands, that means the work doesn't stop at a consumer campaign. The trade press, industry commentary and a credible expert voice are what decide whether buyers and operators see you as a serious player or just another seasonal push. Show up with a point of view, and you shape how your category is talked about, not just how your product is sold.
Increasingly, those same conversations feed search and AI-generated recommendations. When a journalist, a buyer or a shopper asks an AI tool what's worth stocking or where to eat during the tournament, the answer is built from the earned coverage and commentary already out there.
- Find the angle others miss
The World Cup is a moment, but reputation is built across many of them. The brands that stand out treat each cultural moment as a chance to show who they are and include those audiences that others forget.
For example, not everyone wants to watch the World Cup, and that's an opportunity. For every fan glued to the match, there's someone actively avoiding it, and they're an audience too.
The bar that isn't showing the game can make a virtue of it with a campaign that positions it as a haven from football chat. The grandparents minding football-mad kids over the holidays are a ready-made case for a curated grocery bundle that keeps everyone happy and lifts basket spend.
The brands that win big moments are the ones that see the whole crowd, not just the obvious half of it, and find a reason to be useful to all of them.
Let’s kick off!
The World Cup is a rare moment when culture, commerce and community collide, and a real opening for food and drink brands willing to think beyond the match.
If you'd like to talk through what the tournament could mean for your brand, our Retail & Hospitality team is always happy to share a view.
