Retail Bites
While Dry January filled aisles with 0% displays, the real winners this month were brands driving engagement through clever sampling and on-trade tie-ins. Beyond moderation, the “Easter Creep” is already in full swing with confectionery vying for early attention (including a standout, first-of-its-kind on-pack promotion on Easter eggs!).
This edition of Retail Bites breaks down the month’s best activations alongside the latest 2026 data on how shifting consumer habits are actually impacting the bottom line
Bru-ing up a Burns Night Feast
“Great to see this historic Scottish brand activating south of the border on such an iconic and ownable occasion that isn’t often shouted about in stores. While the recipe cards ensure memorability and are a great addition to the in-store fixture, the inclusion of Irn-Bru in every recipe personally does not appeal to my appetite.” – GC View
For Burns Night, Irn-Bru brought Scottish flair to UK retailers. Through custom in-store fixtures, consumers collected exclusive recipe cards to master traditional and modern Irn-Bru infused dishes.
A Golden Start to the New Year
“This is a strong promotion with clear relevance to Lunar New Year. The fortune cookie mechanic is simple and engaging, and the mix of a big cash prize and lots of themed rewards encourages participation. It ties neatly into Blue Dragon’s heritage and products, making the campaign feel authentic and festive.” – GC View
Blue Dragon celebrates Lunar New Year with a ‘Win a Fortune’ promo. Cracking a virtual fortune cookie, entrants can win a £1,000 cash prize or 250+ themed rewards, including premium King Woks, ramen bowl sets, stir-fry kits, and Golden Moments vouchers. A perfect alignment of brand heritage and festive celebration.
Get on Board with Big Wins
“This instant win and draw mechanic centres around a fun prize reveal of ‘rolling dice’. A good way to increase excitement and provide an experience above simply completing a form. The wrap up draw is a great way to please non-winners by giving them a second chance.” – GC View
Premier Foods’ ‘Big Flavours, Big Wins’ partners with Hasbro for a Monopoly-themed promo across iconic brands like Ambrosia and Bisto. Customers roll dice and try to Pass Go for a chance to win prizes. Rewards include £10 – £500 cash, and hundreds of Monopoly games.
Have a Ball with Coke
“Coca-Cola’s Premier League partnership shows how a global brand can still win through bold, digitally led promotions. By leveraging scale, cultural relevance, and fan passion, Coca-Cola uses promotions to drive engagement, deepen emotional connection, and keep a household brand feeling fresh, exciting, and constantly present in consumers’ everyday lives.” – GC View
Coca-Cola strengthens its Premier League partnership with the ‘Guess the Goals’ campaign. Each week, fans attempt to predict the total number of goals that will be scored across fixtures via the Coke App. Those who are correct are entered into weekly draws for 1,000 official Premier League footballs.
Sip Your Way to a Salary
“Nescafé is hitting the nail on the head, giving people what they actually need: cold, hard cash. Offering a £40k salary is a great hook; taking the pressure off daily life. Mixing with instant wins gives shoppers more reason to keep buying. It’s smart and shows they are on the pulse.” – GC View
Nescafé is offering consumers some fiscal relief this year, the famous ‘Win a Salary’ promo is back and offers a bigger grand prize of £40,000, paid as a monthly salary for a year. Entrants enter unique codes from promotional packs to be in the main draw; with a chance to also win 1,500 instant-win cash prizes up to £500.
Win an Easter Island Egg-scape
“Easter promotions crowd the confectionery aisle, but Reese’s cuts through with a cheeky, culturally relevant pun that grabs attention at shelf. The on-pack mechanic comes to life via a microsite, blending a fast-paced instant-win with an Easter Island prize draw to drive excitement and engagement.” – GC View
Reese’s starts the Easter hype early with a UK promo offering a dream 6-night trip for two to Easter Island and Chile (or a £7,500 travel voucher). Participants enter online for a chance at the grand prize plus 90 daily instant win Reese’s hampers. This high-impact campaign perfectly links the brand’s product to a bucket-list destination.
Back Your Bunny for a Big Win
“It is interesting to see how MARS have put two of its brands up against each other, but it’s a great way to increase awareness of its newer products like the M&M’s Bunny! I am particularly intrigued by the co-branded fixtures, and how they utilise the vertical colour split seen across all channels.” – GC View
Maltesers’ ‘Bunny Vote’ is a major Easter cash giveaway where fans vote for their favourite bunny, with a special M&M’s bunny on co-branded fixtures. The promotion offers a £10,000 grand prize plus retailer-exclusive draws of £25,000 for Tesco and £15,000 each for Asda and Sainsbury’s, making it a high-value push for Easter.
Garden Gazing for a Grand Prize
“A smart, engaging use of crowdsourced data, with the online colour picker and bird selector adding charm and playfulness. To elevate it further, the POS could clearly call out the staycation’s cash value and give ‘Tech’ a bigger moment as a genuinely sought after, must-have secondary prize tier.” – GC View
Peckish Colour Watch 2026 invites UK and ROI consumers to log bird sightings for a chance to win from a large prize pool, led by a £2,500 UK staycation. Additional prizes include Smart TVs, Canon cameras, and binoculars, making it a purposeful campaign that turns data collection into a rewarding consumer experience.
Cheers to Your MVP
“Leveraging the Premier League partnership for staff recognition is a great demonstration of B2B engagement. Moving beyond simply volume incentives to reward retail staff with an iconic prize, builds genuine brand loyalty. A smart, human-centric tactic that strengthens trade relationships in the convenience channel.” – GC View
Guinness and the Premier League continue to build the stout’s association with football, and are rewarding convenience trade members with the ‘Win Premier League Tickets’ draw. Open to Diageo One members in GB, participants nominate a deserving staff member for a chance to win two home match tickets to a 2026 fixture.
Put Your Flavor on the Map
“A solid campaign that keeps evolving. Moving from simple suggestions to a huge £500,000 prize turns fans into genuine co-creators, and using TikTok creators keeps it feeling fresh and honest. Simple, smart and keeps us talking about crisps. I’m thinking: Cheesy, Marmitey, Buttery Crumpet.” – GC View
Walkers revives its iconic ‘Do Us A Flavour’ campaign, partnering with 10 of TikTok’s most followed creators, including the Potato Queen, Poppy O’Toole. Fans can submit new flavour ideas for a chance to win a £500,000 prize. The interactive push leverages Poppy’s massive social following to drive Gen Z engagement.
Dry Jan
Saintly Sips
Lucky Saint’s free beer drive is giving away thousands of free pints through Jan and Feb, converting digital leads into bar footfall. Submit a claim and receive a unique code for a free pint or bottle at select venues close to home.
Buy Now, Pour Later
Days Brewing’s ‘Free Beer’ promo drives on-trade trial via retail purchase. Buy a pack at Tesco or Waitrose to claim an e-voucher for a free bottle or pint at Stonegate pubs.
Mocktail Magic
Belvoir Farm, Official Mocktail Partner of Dry January 2026, is driving trial through ‘Best Served With’ recipes and retail activations, positioning its RTDs and cordials as a premium options without compromising on taste.
Thirst For Fitness
Erdinger Alkoholfrei’s ‘Get Active’ promo drives healthconscious engagement, with shoppers scanning neck collars for a chance to win 1 of 350 premium sports boxes, positioning the brand as a post-exercise recovery choice.
Store-To-Bar Bliss
TRIP’s Dry Jan campaign links retail and hospitality through a Waitrose and The Alchemist partnership, where shoppers buying a TRIP mocktail bundle in Waitrose receive a voucher for a free TRIP mocktail at The Alchemist.
Insights
TikTok Live Shopping
TikTok Live shopping has evolved from a brand-building tool into a high-velocity sales engine.
The power of the channel was recently proven by P. Louise, who generated a staggering $2.7M in sales during a single broadcast.
Major retailers like Asda are also leaning in, recently used TikTok Shop for the ‘Tickled Pink’ charity activation with exclusive product bundles on offer.
For brands, Live Shopping is becoming a vital ‘always-on’ storefront that converts community engagement into instant ROI.
Is Veganuary Dead?
With only 3% of Britons committing to a vegan January 2026, the trend is clear: brands should pivot from meat-free messaging toward flexitarian and whole-food options that offer broader appeal.
YouGov
Driest Jan
32% of UK adults are cutting back on alcohol this January, a record high. Driven by a mix of health consciousness and cost-of-living concerns, fueling demand for premium and innovative booze-free options.
TRIP / CensusWide
Pub or Wellness?
Socialising is evolving as 1 in 3 adults (led by Gen Z and Millenials) swap pubs for wellness-led meetups. As alcohol spending dips, brands must pivot to experiences blending community with health and feel good moments.
Barclays
Promotion = Trial
72% of Brits are more likely to try a new brand when it is on promotion, and 56% will spend more money with the brand.
Mando
Not So Habitual
Only a quarter of grocery purchases are strictly habitual. The vast majority of items in a basket (76%) are new, lapsed, or occasional purchases, signaling a massive opportunity for influence.
Tesco Media
