Co-op has renewed its music festival sponsorship with Live Nation UK festivals for a further five years.
The society has been hosting pop-up convenience stores at Live Nation events since 2018. The extension means Co-op will continue as the official supermarket sponsor of Download Festival, Latitude Festival, Reading & Leeds Festivals and Creamfields Festival until 2031.
The stores are on average 6,000 sq ft and stock over 300 products from everyday groceries – covering breakfast, lunch and snacking occasions – to festival staples such as toilet paper, personal care ranges and alcohol.
In recent years the stores have come with reverse vending machines to encourage recycling. Co-op’s Member Prices deals are also available in the stores, which act as a key driver for adding more younger members.
Recent data from the convenience retailer has shown that 70% of all new Co-op member sign-ups during the festival season – with additional supporting recruitment activations before, during and after the events – are under the age of 25.
“Our pop-up stores have rewritten the rules when it comes to accessing grocery essentials at festivals and changed consumer behaviour in terms of stocking up on food and drink pre-event, helping festivalgoers to lighten their loads as they travel from home to the festival campsite,” said Co-op head of partnerships and events Nuala Donnelly.
“Importantly, for Co-op, our partnership with Live Nation UK has enabled us to engage with a new younger audience and we’ve now become part of their festival experience year after year.
“It’s a unique opportunity to recruit new members but also help shoppers to reappraise the quality of our own-brand food and showcase how we can successfully serve the varied needs of communities, even those that are in fields, with ease.”
Live Nation UK marketing partnerships SVP of strategic partnerships Clair Cooper Matthews added: “Our partnership has always been built around one simple idea: making festival life easier for our fans.
“Over the years, Co-op has become a trusted part of the festival experience. From convenient access to on-site essentials to exclusive member benefits that extend the Co-op membership experience across our festivals, they’ve consistently focused on the little things that can make a big difference to fans.
“By tapping into the opportunities live music offers to reward existing members while reaching new audiences, Co-op has shown how live experiences can help build lasting relationships with customers that extend well beyond the festival weekend.
“We’re delighted to be continuing our partnership for another five years and excited to see where we take it next.”
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