Brands are catching World Cup fever even without official sponsorships

This story is part of our week-long editorial series on how major retailers, fashion conglomerates, beauty brands and CPG startups are leveraging this year’s biggest-ever FIFA World Cup to their advantage.

From major splashy ad rollouts by Nike and Adidas to sponsorships by Anheuser-Busch and Coca-Cola, there is no shortage of brand collaborations for this summer’s FIFA World Cup.

But not all brands will pour millions of dollars into official sponsorships. Some smaller U.S. startups, like Crumbl Cookies and Olipop, are getting into the spirit of the World Cup with watch parties, soccer-themed products and more, taking advantage of their proximity to matches to get in on what will perhaps be the biggest cultural moment of the year. With millions of tourists descending on North America in the coming month, brand executives feel like they have to find a way into this moment.

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