Festivalgoers in 2026 are increasingly choosing healthier food and drink options, according to new sales data from Co-op, with fresh fruit, nutritious snacks, water and functional drinks rising in popularity at the convenience retailer’s pop-up festival stores this summer.
Sales data from Co-op’s pop-up stores at Download Festival, Sky presents the Isle of Wight Festival, Klarna Presents Latitude Festival, Kendal Calling and Belladrum Festival, has uncovered that music fans are turning into five-a-day festivalgoers and packing more fresh fruit into their weekends than ever before.
Set against the backdrop of a scorching summer, overall fresh food purchases at festival stores are up 26 percent compared to last year, while sales of grapes and stone fruits climbed 38 percent. Demand for Co-op fruit juices increased by 20 percent, Co-op fruit pot sales rose by 11 percent and Co-op Fairtrade bananas increased eight percent, suggesting festivalgoers are being more conscious of getting their five-a-day when partying in the fields.
In response to this trend, the Co-op increased orders of grapes by 34 percent, bananas by 26 percent, fresh juices by 26 percent, apples by 25 percent and soft fruits by 21 percent for its pop-up stores at Pepsi Max Presents Creamfields Festival and Pepsi Max Presents Reading & Leeds Festivals at the weekend.
Co-op own brand still water is the number one selling drink and is among the top two overall selling products at every Co-op pop-up store across the five festivals to date. Shoppers have purchased more than 7,000 gallons of Co-op still water at festival stores this summer, helping festivalgoers stay hydrated while also supporting clean water and sanitation projects in some of the world’s poorest communities through Co-op’s partnership with The One Foundation – Co-op donates 3p for every litre of own-brand water sold to the charity.
Another success story of the summer has been Co-op’s new range of vitamin waters, which have quickly found a fanbase among festivalgoers looking for hydration and functional benefits such as muscle maintenance and recovery, digestive wellbeing and electrolyte replenishment.
So far this festival season, Co-op has sold the equivalent of 1,600 litres of its new vitamin water range across its festival stores. To meet this demand, Co-op increased orders by 150% for the August weekend’s festivals compared with the first event of the summer.
Georgina Coley, festivals partnership manager at Co-op, said: “Festival weekends are all about having a good time, but it’s clear that people don’t want to leave their healthy habits at home. Our sales data has uncovered the trend for festivalgoers making more balanced choices across the weekend, whether it’s picking up fresh fruit for breakfast, grabbing a juice before heading to the main stage, or stocking up on healthy snacks for the day ahead.”
Co-op’s festival pop-up stores have been helping music fans stock up on everything they need for a weekend in the fields since 2018. Bringing the convenience of a local Co-op store to some of the UK’s biggest festivals, the shops offer a wide range of food, drinks and everyday essentials, making it easy for festivalgoers to pick up anything from fresh fruit, meals and cold drinks to sun cream, toiletries and toilet roll which removes the need for stocking-up pre-event and helping festivalgoers to lighten their loads as they travel from home to the campsite.
At around 6,000sq ft, each store stocks more than 300 products, giving festivalgoers access to many of the same trusted own-brand and branded favourites they’d find in their local Co-op store.
For more information, please visit: Co-op’s 2026 on-site festival stores – Co-op
