Barcode Festival raises record £900,000 for GroceryAid

Barcode Festival, held at Magazine, London on 7 July, has raised a record-breaking amount of over £900,000 for the industry charity GroceryAid.

More than 4,500 FMCG colleagues from throughout the trade returned to the industry’s music, food and drink festival.

“Barcode Festival has quickly become a key event in the trade with a record number of colleagues and sponsors attending this year. We are grateful that the industry has embraced the event and bought their enthusiasm and creativity to make it, once again, a memorable event,” Steve Barnes, GroceryAid chief executive, commented.

“We have provided 61 per cent more instances of support versus last year and we are busier than we ever have been. We are proud that we are helping so many colleagues when they are facing crises. Ultimately that is the purpose of Barcode, to ensure we as a trade can raise the money to carry on our life-changing work for colleagues in need.”

Barcoders were able to enjoy complimentary food, drink and giveaways from over 80 sponsors. Supporters created incredible activations throughout the showground with a range of drinks bars and food stands. The entertainment included live performances from Steps, Tinie Tempah, Bastille, BBC Radio One DJs Rickie and Melvin and rugby legend James Haskell with his Ibiza DJ set.

“We were delighted to be a part of Barcode Festival once again this year, with a strong sustainability message from Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and an exciting Schweppes bar that everyone enjoyed! It means a lot to us to support Grocery Aid with such engaging events and it’s always a great opportunity to connect with others and engage new consumers,” said Carinna DeOliveir, Shopper Marketing, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

Next year’s Barcode Festival will be held at Magazine, London on 6 July 2023. Tickets are now available.