Maximising sales during the Six Nations presents an excellent opportunity for wholesalers to tap into a highly engaged and celebratory audience.
The Six Nations is more than just a rugby tournament—it is a cultural moment that brings communities together, whether they are watching the games in pubs, at home, or with friends.
Joel McNally, Assistant Brand Manager, Brookfield Drinks, comments: “First, focus on creating a compelling range that aligns with the key occasions surrounding the Six Nations: at-home viewing parties, and gatherings. Stocking up on a mix of value packs, sharing formats, and premium options can cater to all these occasions. For example, Kestrel’s award-winning lagers are an excellent choice, offering versatility for consumers looking for premium value options for match days.”
Timing is everything. Ensure promotional displays and merchandising go live in advance of the tournament to build anticipation and early sales momentum. Eye-catching displays in-store or online that incorporate rugby-themed visuals can create a strong connection for retailers wanting to connect with fans, prompting impulse purchases.
Do not underestimate the power of social media and digital marketing. Encourage retailers to leverage platforms to highlight Six Nations-specific promotions or bundle offers. Promotions such as “match packs” or discounts tied to specific fixtures can create excitement and urgency.
“Focus on upselling complementary products,” adds McNally. “Snacks, mixers, and soft drinks are natural pairings with beer and lagers, and suggesting bundles can drive basket spend. Ensuring Kestrel and other complementary products are prominently positioned and readily accessible will make it easier for customers to stock up ahead of the big games.”
Leveraging products that originate from the countries playing in Six Nations matches is a fantastic way to create excitement and deepen the connection with fans. The tournament is steeped in national pride, and aligning products with the countries involved taps into that emotional engagement, offering a unique opportunity to drive sales through themed promotions.
Kestrel Beer, proudly born in Scotland, can be at the heart of a Scottish promotion during matches featuring the Scottish team. Pairing Kestrel with other Scottish products can create compelling themed bundles. These could be marketed as “Game Day Hampers” or “Support Scotland Packs,” perfect for fans looking to elevate their viewing experience. Retailers and wholesalers can adapt this concept for other matches too. This creates a fun rivalry-themed promotion, encouraging fans to back their team through their purchases.
Additionally, timed deals tied to fixtures can drive urgency. For example, a “Scottish Match Special” where customers get a discount or free item for purchasing Kestrel Beer or associated bundles during Scotland’s games, can encourage impulse purchases.
Beer and cider are the standout drink categories for Six Nations celebrations at home, as they allow fans to replicate the authentic experience of being at a live rugby game and they are deeply ingrained in the social and celebratory traditions of sporting events. Beer, particularly lager, is a match-day staple with broad appeal, making it the go-to choice for fans watching games at home, in pubs, or at social gatherings. Brands like Kestrel Beer, with their versatile ABV offering (4.6%, 7% and 9%), cater to both value-oriented shoppers and those seeking a premium experience. Cider, such as Diamond Cider, offers a refreshing and crowd-pleasing alternative, appealing to a wide audience and pairing perfectly with food, making it ideal for home-viewing occasions where drinks and snacks are central to the experience.
Wholesalers can encourage retailers to merchandise food and drink pairings together in-store. By strategically positioning complementary products together, retailers can create an enticing one-stop-shop for customers looking to prepare for specific occasions, such as Six Nations match days or other celebrations.
One effective approach is to provide pre-designed planograms or merchandising guides that illustrate how to display beer, cider, and food pairings in high-traffic areas. For example, placing packs of Kestrel Beer or Diamond Cider alongside popular snacks such as crisps, nuts, or party platters simplifies the decision-making process for customers. Retailers can also leverage ready-to-go themed bundles – such as “Game Day Packs” featuring beer, cider, and snacks – supplied or suggested by wholesalers to make it easier to implement these displays.
Wholesalers can further support retailers by offering promotional discounts or incentives on paired products, making the combination more appealing to customers. Highlighting the profitability of such bundles – showing how pairing food and drinks can increase average transaction value – can motivate retailers to adopt this strategy.
“Additionally, wholesalers can provide marketing materials such as point-of-sale displays, shelf talkers, and signage to draw attention to the pairings in-store. These materials could include themes like “Perfect for the Game” or “Match-Day Essentials,” highlighting the synergy between food and drink and encouraging customers to buy both categories together,” says McNally.
“Finally, wholesalers can educate retailers about seasonal opportunities, such as the Six Nations, and how pairing products can align with customer behaviour. By making it as simple as possible for retailers to merchandise food and drink together and demonstrating the potential for increased sales, wholesalers can help drive successful cross-category promotions.”
Economic pressures have made consumers increasingly sensitive to pricing, with many actively shopping around for the best deals, whilst looking for premium value. In this environment, offering discounts is the most effective way to encourage potential customers to make a purchase. Importantly, discounts do not need to be substantial to incentivise buyers – 38% of consumers report they would purchase a product if it were discounted by just 20%, highlighting the importance of even modest price reductions in driving sales (AskAttest).
Kestrel Super Premium Lager remains the cornerstone of Brookfield Drinks’ product lineup, maintaining its position as the UK’s top-selling 9% ABV canned lager. Its enduring success is evident not only in the UK but also across export markets, highlighting its widespread appeal and strong consumer loyalty worldwide.
Complementing the flagship product, Kestrel Premium and Kestrel Extra Premium have firmly established themselves since their launch, delivering consistent and robust sales. These variants have become popular choices among wholesalers, retailers, and consumers, offering exceptional brewing quality and premium ingredients at accessible price points. Their success underscores Kestrel’s ability to meet diverse consumer demands while maintaining its reputation for excellence.
Kestrel has solidified its position as a leading brand in its category, with Kestrel Super Premium Lager maintaining its status as the UK’s best-selling 9% lager. This flagship product has not only dominated the domestic market but also achieved significant growth internationally, demonstrating strong consumer loyalty and expanding its presence in export markets.
Building on this success, Kestrel’s diversified range is seeing robust growth in the UK market and abroad. These lower-strength variants, including 4.6% and 7% lagers have been well-received and has become a must stock for wholesalers and retailers alike. This expansion underscores Kestrel’s commitment to innovation and responsiveness to evolving consumer preferences, further cementing its reputation as a bold, forward-thinking brand in a competitive market.
Kestrel continues its premier sponsorship of Santa Pod Raceway, further solidifying its presence in the motorsport community. As part of this agreement, Kestrel will maintain exclusive pouring rights at all of Santa Pod’s onsite bars, ensuring the brand remains front and centre at one of the UK’s most iconic motorsport venues.
In addition to this flagship partnership, Kestrel is proud to announce Harry Rice, Aston Martin Racing driver, as its newest brand ambassador. Harry’s partnership with Kestrel exemplifies the brand’s commitment to the motorsport world and provides an exciting platform to engage with fans and enthusiasts alike. The brand also has ambitious plans to expand its motorsport-related partnerships, further aligning the Kestrel brand with high-octane, adrenaline-fuelled experiences.
Kestrel is also continuing to make strides with the Flying Kestrel land speed record project, with two upcoming attempts to surpass the 200mph barrier in 2025. These highly anticipated record attempts will be professionally filmed and shared across Kestrel’s and The Flying Kestrel’s social media platforms, reinforcing the brand’s reputation for bold, innovative ventures.
At the same time, Kestrel is investing heavily in social media activity to engage existing and new customers with dynamic, creative content. By combining its motorsport initiatives with bold digital marketing strategies, Kestrel continues to position itself as an exciting, forward-thinking brand that resonates with its audience on and off the track.
“To maximise sales, wholesalers need to adopt a strategic approach that aligns with both retailer demands and evolving consumer behaviours. This requires a keen understanding of emerging trends, such as the increasing demand for premium products, low- and no-alcohol options, and sustainability-focused offerings. By curating a diverse product range that caters to these preferences, wholesalers can ensure they meet the needs of a broad customer base while helping retailers stay competitive,” advises McNally.
“We are always in frequent contact with wholesalers, providing updates about promotions, marketing activities, and new product developments (NPD). As category experts, we provide insights and advice that helps wholesalers understand our product offerings and customer demands better. We work closely with wholesalers to coordinate marketing efforts that can amplify reach and effectiveness. This might involve co-created marketing materials, joint advertising campaigns, or shared social media initiatives.”
Lauren Priestley, Head of Category Development Off Trade at Diageo GB, comments: “The Six Nations presents a valuable opportunity for wholesalers to drive sales by helping their customers meet the demand for premium drinks enjoyed at home during match-day gatherings. Guinness has cemented its place as the iconic brand synonymous with rugby and the Six Nations, making it an integral part of the championship experience. By stocking iconic brands and varied formats, consumers can recreate the ‘pub experience’ at home, including multipacks suited for social and sharing occasions, wholesalers can effectively tap into a wide range of preferences.”
Wholesalers should also consider the growing demand for low and no alcohol options, as 40% of adults now seek to moderate their drinking (Kantar). Guinness 0.0 provides the iconic Guinness taste without the alcohol, making it an essential addition to shelves for customers who want an inclusive and premium beer experience – with its off-trade sales soaring by 110% to £33.2M in 2024 (NIQ), highlighting its strong market appeal.
For wholesalers looking for marketing and merchandising advice and guidance, they can now visit the Diageo One platform which has been transformed to offer wholesalers marketing support and assets, exclusive training and insights, and more to help supercharge their businesses. For more information, head to https://gb.diageo-one.com.
Kate Abbotson, Senior External Communications Manager, GB at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), comments: “There is a busy sporting schedule to look forward to in the first half of 2025, including the return of the Six Nations Rugby in January, February and March.
“We expect friends and family to gather to watch matches at home, which means there is a big opportunity for retailers and wholesalers to score more sales.
“To accompany this hugely popular sporting event, retailers and wholesalers should focus on stocking sharing packs from leading brands like Coca-Cola™, the biggest soft drinks brand in GB (Nielsen), Fanta, the leading flavoured carbonate brand in GB (Nielsen) and Dr Pepper, the second-largest flavoured carbonate brand in GB (Nielsen). Don’t forget Schweppes, an iconic mixer brand worth almost £60m (Nielsen).” Last year, CCEP expanded its PMP range by introducing price-marked Schweppes 1-litre PET bottles. This enabled more convenience customers to enjoy the advantages of PMPs with the best-selling mixers brand in retail, perfect for a big night in watching sports.
Cross-merchandising sharing packs of soft drinks with complementary categories like snacks so customers can pick up everything they need for a night in watching sport can help drive more incremental sales. “In the run-up to matches many shoppers may be looking to cheer on their team at home, surrounded by friends and family, with a mixed drink,” adds Abbotson.
“To make the most of this opportunity, retailers and wholesalers should stock up on alcoholic ready to drink (ARTD) cocktails – like our Jack Daniel’s and Coca-Cola RTD, which has generated nearly £43m (Nielsen) worth of sales since it launched in March 2023 – offering hosts a convenient way to deliver a perfect serve every time. Data shows that the ARTD category is worth £554m in GB (Nielsen), highlighting the opportunity it brings for retailers and wholesalers.”
Earlier this year CCEP announced the launch of price-marked packs (PMPs) for the Jack Daniel’s and Coca-Cola alcohol ready-to-drink (ARTD) range to help convenience retailers provide visible value to shoppers and drive sales.
CCEP has also added to its ARTD portfolio with Absolut Vodka & SPRITE, which blends the smoothness of premium vodka, Absolut, with the loved lemon-lime soft drink, SPRITE, offering yet another refreshing alcoholic serve to enjoy at home.
Matt Collins, Sales Director at KP Snacks, “Kicking off at the end of January, the Six Nations Championship is one of the first major sporting events of 2025. With fans eager to maximise their enjoyment while watching the matches at home by stocking up on snacks, the tournament represents a key opportunity for retailers to drive sales and footfall. To capitalise on this opportunity, retailers should offer themed fixtures and promotions, and ensure they stock a strong range of best-selling Crisps, Snacks and Nuts.”
CSN is a strong and resilient category with huge scale, worth over £5.24bn and growing in value +4.7% (Nielsen IQ). KP Snacks is catering to the growth of sharing occasions with a diverse portfolio of tasty snacks that generate demand and drive sales. Its sharing range has something for everyone, from popcorn to nuts to pretzels and of course crisps.
Nuts offer a delicious snack while watching the rugby at home and KP Nuts leads the category as the number one Nut brand.
KP Nuts’ sharing portfolio features classic favourites including its Original Salted, Honey Roast and Dry Roasted Peanuts as well as bold and tempting flavours from the KP Flavour Kravers range. Bringing big, punchy flavours to sharing occasions, KP’s Flavour Kravers range includes two coated variants: KP Flavour Kravers Crunchy Coated Aromatic Thai Chilli and KP Flavour Kravers Crunchy Coated Katsu Curry. Designed to tempt new shoppers to the Nuts segment, KP Flavour Kravers coated variants deliver innovative flavours and a satisfyingly crunchy and crispy texture.
Premium snack brand Tyrrells pair exquisitely with a variety of wines and ciders to make getting together to watch the Six Nations with friends and family feel like a special occasion. The Tyrrells brand is acclaimed for its high quality and delicious flavours, with over 90 Great Taste awards to the brand’s name. Tyrrells crisps are growing +11.5% in the Sharing segment (Nielsen IQ) and the Premium CSN segment is growing +12.9% (Nielsen IQ), making Tyrrells 150g Sharing bags key products to stock as consumers look to trade up to premium snacks.
Popcorn is an ideal partner to the excitement and entertainment of the Six Nations matches. With a 32.1% market share of the popcorn segment, Butterkist is the nation’s favourite popcorn (Nielsen IQ).
“To maximise sales, retailers should introduce themed displays, fixtures and promotions to entice shoppers and encourage impulse purchases, which make up 70% of Bagged Snacks sales (Mintel),” adds Collins.
“It’s important that retailers also continue to stock a strong core range of leading CSN products. 25 to Thrive’s ranging advice provides a core recommendation of must-stock SKUs from multiple suppliers. The impartial category-wide advice has been designed to help retailers bag their share of CSN sales, with the category now worth over £5.2bn and experiencing strong growth of +4.7 % (Nielsen IQ).
“By stocking the 25 to Thrive range and positioning CSN fixtures with prominence, retailers can revive their sales, drive impulse purchases and thrive in a competitive market.”
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