Total Wine & More is capitalizing on early consumer interest in this summer's global soccer tournament, releasing internal search data showing that shoppers began searching terms like "FIFA" and "World Cup" on the retailer's platform more than four weeks before the tournament's June kickoff. The Bethesda, Md.-based chain — the nation's largest independent adult beverage retailer — says it has assembled a product assortment spanning all 36 competing nations to meet demand for at-home watch-party occasions.
For on-premise operators, the data is a useful signal: soccer fans are planning their viewing experiences well in advance, and the appetite for internationally themed beverages is clearly building. Bars, restaurants, and hospitality venues looking to compete with the at-home occasion should consider curating tournament-specific drink menus that lean into national beer, wine, and spirits from competing countries. Our beverage industry analysis has consistently shown that themed programming tied to major sporting events drives measurable traffic and check-average lifts.
The timing matters for procurement as well. If consumer search intent peaked four-plus weeks out, operators who haven't yet locked in specialty imports or limited-run World Cup SKUs may find allocations tighter as the tournament progresses. Coordinating with distributor reps now — or sourcing through broad-assortment retailers — could help fill gaps on the back bar.
The broader trend here is the continued blurring of retail and on-premise beverage occasions. As Total Wine and other large-format retailers invest heavily in experiential merchandising and occasion-based marketing, restaurants and bars must sharpen what makes the in-venue experience irreplaceable — atmosphere, service, and community. For more on how operators are navigating the retail-versus-on-premise dynamic, see our restaurant beverage programming coverage.
For context, Food & Beverage Magazine has tracked similar spikes in spirits and import beer sales around prior major international tournaments, underscoring that these windows represent some of the highest-velocity weeks of the year for adult beverage retail. Operators who move quickly to align their offerings with the cultural moment stand to capture a meaningful share of that spending before fans settle into their couches.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
