World Cup 2026: beyond the usual categories

As we have seen with events recently, retailers, away from home operators, and suppliers are looking to use them to draw shoppers into more and more categories or to attract attention to brands not usually associated with that specific time.

Retailers, away from home operators, and suppliers are using the World Cup in the same way, leading to eye-catching and interesting activity from categories not typically associated with the tournament. While food, drink and sport-led occasions remain central, brands and retailers across the world are showing that the World Cup can also be a platform for engagement in less expected spaces.

Away from home: activations that work before, during and after the game

Pizza Express is activating the World Cup 2026 with a “hat-trick” of limited-edition garlic butters inspired by the host nations. While only 19% of followers plan to watch some games at restaurants, almost a third plan to buy more food and drink from delivery aggregators, such as Deliveroo and Just Eat.

Pizza Express’s limited garlic butters give consumers a reason to celebrate
before, during and after the games. Even if many are planning to watch at home or
pubs and bars, activations tied into the spirit of the tournament can capture consumer attention and spend.

Sporting events like the World Cup also give away from home operators an
opportunity to innovate and test new products. The excitement surrounding the tournament may encourage consumers to try something new tied to the event, while the limited-time offer also enables the operator to trial products with relatively low risk.

Turning brand consumers into brand supporters

Cafés and quick service restaurants may not be go-to destinations for many sports fans. Nevertheless, Bara Café, Starbucks Reserve and Raising Canes demonstrate how operators outside the pubs, bars and restaurants sectors are aiming to benefit from World Cup excitement.

By releasing football-themed merchandise in time for the World Cup, the operators have created an opportunity for consumers to link their brands with the matches. With 59% of consumers planning to follow the World Cup, merchandise gives operators outside expected areas an opportunity to turn consumers into walking adverts.

At the same time, consumers can buy and wear the merchandise to support their personal identity and as a way of expression. Many young consumers buy merchandise to express their values, feel part of a community and curate their public persona.

Albert Heijn unveils multi-category experience

In the Netherlands, Albert Heijn has launched an ‘Orange Festival’ in-store and within its shopper app. The gamified experience, which takes the digital form of a variety of festival tents, offers plenty of interactive experiences that can be triggered within the app.

Up for grabs are discounts, prizes and free items, encompassing brands such as Albert Heijn private label, Heineken, Felix, Ariel, Snickers, Lays, Tuc, Budweiser, Starbucks, Look-O-Look, Coca-Cola and the Dutch Football Association.

Contests are held via weekly games, and shoppers can unlock more games by purchasing certain grocery items, unlocking a richer experience for themselves as well as high volumes for the retailer and participating brands, including those in categories not traditionally associated with sporting events.

HEB Central Market bakes up exciting activation

In the US, HEB’s Central Market, a format that’s often considered a ‘foodie’s paradise’, made the bakery a focal point for World Cup activity. Each sign pairs a competing nation’s flag with a themed product and price, from French mini palmier cookies to Portuguese pão de deus and Spanish pastel bites. It fits naturally with the retailer’s focus on speciality items and discovery, with flags doing the work of signalling occasion relevance to shoppers who'd otherwise walk past.

Tesco plays a blinder in produce

A frequent criticism of football sponsorship in general is that it tends to skew towards less healthy brands and categories in fast food, confectionery, snacking, soft drinks and alcohol, and it would not be unreasonable to suggest that this World Cup has not bucked the trend.

However, a couple of UK retailers have taken the initiative to try to involve produce, with Morrisons running a ‘half-time oranges’ campaign to give free oranges to kids on England and Scotland matchdays, and Tesco pulling off one of the marketing coups of the summer with its masterstroke that sees a tweak to regular lettuce packaging to make them resemble footballs.  

Innovative activations built from understanding shoppers

If these activations tell us anything, it’s that the World Cup can stretch far beyond the categories we instinctively associate with it. Looking beyond the full-time whistle, the brands that grow will be those that spot new consumer occasions, understand emerging missions, and build credible ways to show up.

Our consulting team partners with businesses to uncover these opportunities, develop a clear commercial vision, and create the story needed to sell it in.

Get in touch to explore where your category could play next.