UK snacks retail bonanza forecast surrounding World Cup’s global celebrations

A major British retail snacking bonanza has been projected for UK supermarkets surrounding this year’s World Cup, according to latest sector analysis, writes Neill Barston.

Significantly, as reported this week by our title, the global sporting phenomenon, which is being staged in its largest-ever iteration, is taking place across the US, Canada and Mexico, has seen a number of largely-independent efforts from manufacturers to maximise interest in the event, with launches from key businesses including Hershey, Ferrero, Lay’s crisps and Mondelez International to name a few.  

Intriguingly, it appears World Cup fever, and a desire to celebrate with a raft of food and drink options, is very much alive and well in the UK, with both England and Scotland qualifying for the tournament.

Moreover, among groups making the most of the occasion on British shores is the Finsbury Food Group. It is set to bring the excitement of this summer’s biggest sporting draw to supermarket bakery aisles with two limited edition Scotland and England Cupcakes (below).

Created in partnership with the Scottish Football Association and the English Football Association, the cupcakes appeared in  Tesco stores nationwide, just as football fever will be reaching full pitch.

Both packs feature nine vanilla cupcakes inspired by the iconic team colours of England and Scotland, bringing the spirit of this summer’s tournament to life in bakery aisles.

Retail research
According to studies from Zilch intelligent  payments platform, has analysed its UK grocery transaction data around England’s Euro 2024 fixtures to understand how major football moments could shape supermarket spending around the FIFA World Cup 2026.

As the group noted, its analysis indicates that grocery spending was strongest in the build-up to England games, indicating that many households stocked up to host ahead of kick-off rather than waiting until match day itself.

Zilch data showed that: The day before an England fixture was the clearest peak in grocery spend, with spend 15.1% above the June-July 2024 daily average.

Notably, grocery spend the day before an England game was also 20.5% higher than match-day spend, pointing to a stock-up effect as households prepared for watching games at home.

Average grocery spend was 9.5% higher during knockout fixtures than during England’s group-stage matches.

As the organisation noted, data suggests that major football fixtures drive grocery behaviour, with the clearest opportunity for supermarkets coming in the build-up to England games as households prepare for these major sporting occasions.

With England’s World Cup group games taking place later in the evening UK time, retailers may see a similar “stock-up before kick-off” opportunity this summer, as fans prepare for late-night viewing, hosting and at-home matchday occasions.

Commenting on the data, Andreas Andreou, Chief Revenue Officer at Zilch, said: “With football uniting the nation, major moments like the Euros and the World Cup get fans into planning mode, with our data showing that grocery spend typically peaks in the run up to England fixtures as Brits prepare to mark the occasion.

“For retailers, this is a valuable signal as we head into the next football frenzy. The opportunity is not just the match day itself, but the build-up, when shoppers are in planning mode and ready to spend. That is exactly the kind of real-time intent signal Zilch is here to help grocers act on.”

Zilch works with thousands of retailers, including major grocers such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Iceland and Morrisons. This analysis is based on Zilch UK grocery transaction spending around England’s Euro 2024 fixtures.