Major sporting events have long created significant opportunities for food and drink brands, but few moments rival the commercial impact of the football World Cup. As consumers stock up for watch parties, gatherings and celebrations, retail shelves become increasingly competitive — and packaging often becomes the deciding factor in capturing attention.

For manufacturers and packaging suppliers, the tournament represents a period where branding, speed-to-market and shelf presence all come under intense focus.

According to Packaging Technologist & Sustainability Consultant Dan Coppins, brands are likely to lean heavily into limited-edition packaging and promotional mechanics designed to maximise visibility during the tournament.

“The football World Cup is always a huge moment for retail, particularly for food and beverage,” says Coppins. “Sales will focus on special editions specifically for this event, competing to stand out.”

For many brands, this means adapting existing packaging with tournament-inspired graphics and promotional overlays, while others may take a more disruptive approach through entirely new formats and materials.

“There will be an increase in the use of novel packaging to achieve shelf presence against competitors,” Coppins explains. “These packs will be different to their usual packaging.”

Flexible formats such as pouches and sachets may become more prominent during promotional periods, particularly for larger refill-style packs or value-led multipacks aimed at group viewing occasions. At the same time, many brands are expected to rely on packaging embellishments including metallic foils, reflective finishes and bright colour palettes designed to stand out in crowded retail environments.

“These different graphics will likely incorporate more reflective materials with bright colours to catch consumers’ eyes on shelf,” says Coppins.

The challenge for manufacturers is balancing visual impact with production efficiency. Limited-edition runs require fast turnaround times, flexible print capabilities and the ability to scale production quickly around tournament schedules and retail demand spikes.

Promotional packaging is also increasingly tied to wider retail activation strategies. Competitions, giveaways and multi-buy mechanics remain a core tactic for driving volume sales during major sporting events, particularly as consumers continue to seek value amid ongoing economic pressures.

“These will largely also come with competition options or multi-buy discounts,” says Coppins. “Both of these drive sales with consumers, and with the economy as it is, this will be an effective way of selling product.”

Retail theatre is expected to play a major role during the tournament period, with standalone displays and secondary positioning helping brands increase visibility beyond the shelf itself. In football-focused markets such as the UK, where consumer engagement with the tournament is especially high, these displays are likely to become even more prominent.

However, while bold graphics and event-led branding can deliver short-term sales gains, maintaining long-term brand recognition remains essential.

“For most brands, a limited-edition pack, with a competition and multi-buy discount will have the biggest impact on sales,” says Coppins. “Limited-edition packs will likely be recognisable easily as the brand, but with embellishments in bright colours and reflective surfaces.”

Interestingly, not every brand may follow the same design direction. As shelves become saturated with loud colours and promotional graphics, some manufacturers could instead adopt more stripped-back, minimalist approaches to differentiate themselves.

“It is also likely that some brands will predict this and go the opposite way, opting to go for more minimalist packaging,” Coppins notes.

Alongside branding considerations, sustainability is likely to remain part of the conversation. Event-led packaging campaigns can create pressure around short-run production, additional materials and temporary promotional formats. As a result, manufacturers may increasingly need to balance visual impact and promotional effectiveness with recyclability, material efficiency and wider environmental commitments.

Ultimately, while packaging innovation can help brands capitalise on the heightened retail opportunity presented by the World Cup, consistency remains critical.

“Keeping core details from your brand will be critical to ensuring the boost in sales during the event follows through with brand recognition after the event finishes,” says Coppins.

For manufacturers, the World Cup is arguably a stress test for packaging agility, branding strategy and production capability at scale.