Pubs and bars have had a spike in activity since the start of the 2026 Fifa World Cup, while a major Kiwi brewery has registered an increase in demand throughout the tournament.
The World Cup, which comes to an end on Monday morning, has spurred a rise in beer sales to New Zealand venues for beverage company Lion, according to Sam Cunningham, its on-premise sales director.
“What we’re looking at for Lion over the six weeks, and we believe it’s heavily World Cup-driven, is our volumes have been up 4-4.5% up versus our forecast, which indicates a really strong positive sign that the World Cup’s driven good sales,” Cunningham said.
Meanwhile, Kristy Phillips, chief executive of Hospitality New Zealand, said patrons have been flocking to bars over the course of the competition.
“The Fifa World Cup matches have provided an uptick in trade among many hospitality venues, especially those who are screening the games,” Phillips said.
“We’ve heard from many of our members, particularly sports bars, that have been fully booked during the screenings, and changing up their normal operations to encourage guests to be out in full force, enjoying themselves and supporting their teams.”
Cunningham explained that keg sales had been positive both for early-morning fixtures and those later in the day, while the tournament has helped to boost sales compared to their usually quieter winters.
“Winter is a period in New Zealand generally sees a lower level of sales versus a summer period, but when there are events on such as World Cups and the All Blacks, Warriors games, these really do help bridge that gap through winter, particularly when teams like the Warriors and the All Blacks are playing really well.
“It’ll draw out more crowds into venues, more people in venues, more consumption happening, equals more sales and for us, that is particularly in beer.”
The Warriors and the All Blacks kickoff within half an hour of each other in Auckland on Saturday – and while it might cause trouble for supporters heading to the stadiums, Phillips expects venues to be packed around the city.
“We’d expect a big sporting weekend in Auckland to have a positive flow-through to hospitality and to see lots of people getting out into venues either before or after games, or to watch the games in a social setting in the city or throughout the country,” Phillips said.
“The All Blacks test especially is also likely to bring in some out-of-towners, which is positive for tourism.
“It’s great to have these sorts of events in the calendar, especially over the winter period, and this reinforces the importance of events to hospitality across the country.”
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Source: New Zealand Herald
