Strongbow set for Brighton & Hove, Manchester Pride with wholesale activations

Heineken UK is helping convenience retailers get ready for bumper cider sales during Brighton & Hove and Manchester Pride 2024. Live from July through to August, exclusive Strongbow activations in Booker Wholesale will amplify brand visibility and help retailers celebrate Pride in style.

The activation, running both online and in-depot at select locations, including Booker Brighton and Booker Manchester Gorton, will offer independent retailers a free point of sale kit with every purchase of a case of Strongbow across all flavours. The kit includes bunting for in-store use, a hanging flag and A3 posters detailing the event, with key information to help consumers prepare ahead of the festivities and a reminder to stock up on Strongbow. Strongbow is the number one cider brand and the activation will spotlight all the bestsellers in the range, including Original, the infamous Dark Fruit, Tropical and newly launched Zest and Strawberry – offering consumers excitement and choice, while looking to recruit new fans into the cider category during summer.

Alongside the wholesale elements, Strongbow is also teaming up with social media powerhouse HUNSNET, with over +100K Instagram followers, to bring their celebration of PRIDE to life. A series of posts have been created highlighting the amazing new flavours in the Strongbow portfolio, ensuring Strongbow is front of mind for consumers.

Additionally, in collaboration with HUNSNET, Strongbow will have a dedicated activation space at Brighton & Hove Pride’s Fabuloso in the Park event, where the brand will be serving a selection of flavours including new Strongbow Strawberry – the only bar at the festival where the flavour will be available, helping to drive relevance and awareness among fans. The space will also host a series of HUNSNET performances across the weekend.

“We’re thrilled to be activating with Strongbow in Booker ahead of Brighton & Hove and Manchester Pride, and cannot wait to go live with our collaboration with Hunsnet for the content series and Fabuloso in the Park," said Rachel Holms, cider brand director at Heineken UK. "By spotlighting Pride with Strongbow, we hope to bring further awareness of the occasion and champion LGBTQIA+ voices, alongside helping retailers across the country boost their cider sales as Pride festivals commence.”

Strongbow highlights the brand’s journey to become the UK’s most inclusive cider. This activity also works to promote and support the Heineken Open & Proud (HOP) colleague network group who represent the company’s LGBTQIA+ community.