2026 Brings Two Major Sporting Events. Keep Your Brand in Play.
By Caroline Zerilli, Product Marketing Manager at Chicory
From Super Bowl LX to the FIFA World Cup, 2026 will bring two major sporting events. As fans gear up, lingering overall economic uncertainty will most likely have an effect on how and where they watch. Studies show that more people are hosting at home and, therefore, planning menus and building shopping lists in advance.
For CPG and grocery brands, this creates a powerful opportunity to secure a spot in consumers’ carts.
The At-Home Shift
Rising prices are driving more celebrations out of bars and restaurants and back into the living room. Cooking at home has surged, with 70% of Gen Z and 65% of the general population saying they’re cooking more than they were a year ago.
This behavior extends to sports viewing as well, with 56% of consumers hosting and 40% joining friends and family at home. Whether they’re entertaining or contributing to someone else’s spread, consumers will be seeking solutions to create a winning game day experience at home.
Game Day for Consumers, Game Time for Brands
Entertaining at home means more shopping occasions and bigger baskets. While consumers may be navigating higher prices, they’re not abandoning categories altogether. Rather, they’re trading down or choosing smartly within them—think bulk snacks and beverages, frozen pizza as a take-out alternative, or even home-care products for an easy cleanup.
As consumers make choices with value and convenience in mind, brands must be strategic about when and where they’re showing up. To drive real outcomes from these major sporting events, success hinges on reaching shoppers in the right mindset.
Score with Chicory
Chicory’s ad suite is designed to reach consumers in an active mindset, connecting brands with high-intent shoppers in the moments that matter most: as they seek recipe inspiration, build shopping lists, and plan meals. Our contextual commerce media aligns brands with contextually relevant content and connects inspiration to checkout, driving measurable outcomes.
Right Mindset. Right Moment. Real Outcomes.
Research shows ad receptivity increases by 60% when consumers are in the right mindset. That’s why reaching them when they’re making food-related decisions matters now more than ever.
Last year, a leading snack manufacturer partnered with Chicory to spotlight its cookie and cracker portfolio for the Super Bowl. By activating engaging shoppable ad formats within contextually relevant food and recipe content, Chicory reached consumers as they were actively planning at-home spreads and building their lists.
The campaign drove above-average performance, delivering an 8.7X incremental ROAS and a 6.2% sales lift, proving the power of reaching shoppers in an active mindset when they’re most receptive.
Our ad formats influence shoppers across the buying journey from curiosity to consideration and conversion.
Keep Your Brand in Play
2026 will be a banner year for sports—and for the brands ready to meet consumers where they are. As more consumers host at home, occasions like the Super Bowl and the FIFA World Cup stand out as prime opportunities for CPG and grocery brands to grow market share and drive sales.
Chicory campaigns supporting major sporting events drive up to 6.8X iROAS, proving that when brands reach consumers in the right moments and mindsets, they can turn cultural events into real outcomes.
Ready to discuss a winning strategy for the Super Bowl or FIFA World Cup, and beyond? Book a meeting below.
Ready to learn how chicory can help You?
Book a meeting below to see how we convert moments that matter into measurable outcomes.
