5 Summer Marketing Event Ideas with Viral UK Food & Beverage Trends!

By Manuela Willbold

Summer is the perfect season to host vibrant events for your brand, from backyard BBQs to large-scale festivals. But to truly stand out in a competitive market, your event marketing must connect with evolving consumer tastes and cultural trends. 

In the UK, the food and beverage scene is rapidly shifting toward plant-based options, mindful drinking, and exciting global flavors — all of which present powerful opportunities for marketers. According to Jellybean Creative’s 2025 food and drink insights, these trends are shaping how UK consumers choose where they eat, drink, and spend their time — making them essential considerations for successful event campaigns.

This guide shares our top 5 summer event marketing ideas, all rooted in the latest UK food and beverage trends. These strategies are designed to help businesses create buzzworthy experiences that guests rave about on social media — before, during, and after the event — turning your summer gathering into a viral sensation.

Summer Event Marketing Timeline

1. Embrace the Plant-Based & Flexitarian Movement

Why it matters:

Plant-based eating is more than just a trend—it’s a lifestyle embraced by millions across the UK. Recent taste trends show that around 25% of UK adults identify as flexitarians, meaning they mainly follow a plant-based diet but occasionally enjoy meat or fish.

This shift is driven by health, environmental, and ethical considerations. For event marketers, offering delicious, satisfying plant-based options is a powerful way to attract and retain conscious consumers.

How to market it digitally:

• Showcase sizzling summer treat visuals: Capture the heat with vibrant photos and videos of colourful vegan burgers, smoky jackfruit sliders, and BBQ veggie platters. Incorporate your brand colours, logo and slogans into the images to make them eye-catching and perfect for sharing on social media.
• Tell the summer stories behind the bites: Share behind-the-scenes content of your plant-based vendors — from farm-fresh ingredients to sunlit prep kitchens. Use reels or carousels to highlight the inspiration behind each summer dish and build a connection with your audience.
• Collaborate with eco-conscious summer influencers: Partner with UK-based vegan and sustainability influencers to give your summer menu a boost. Let them preview dishes, go live from your event, or run giveaways that amplify your reach.
• Launch a summer hashtag challenge: Encourage attendees to post their favourite plant-based plates using fun, branded hashtags like #GreenGrillFest or #PlantPowerBBQ. Offer prizes for the most creative summer-themed posts to drive engagement and user-generated content.

Key takeaway: Offering high-quality plant-based dishes at your event is not only an ethical choice but a marketing strategy that increases your event’s relevance and shareability following current lifestyle trends.

2. Feature Low and No-Alcohol Drink Innovations

Why it matters:
The mindful drinking movement is reshaping social norms around alcohol. The statistic that nearly 1 in 3 UK adults are reducing their alcohol intake is supported by recent research from Aviva, driving demand for creative, sophisticated low- or no-alcohol options.

How to market it digitally:

• Host interactive online events: Invite your audience to live virtual mixology classes where they can learn to make your event’s top low-alcohol drinks.
• Leverage polls and quizzes: Engage your audience by asking them to vote on which alcohol-free drink should be featured at your event or guess ingredients for prizes, and run Instagram giveaways to boost participation and excitement.
• Develop branded AR filters: A fun filter that adds your event’s signature mocktail to selfies encourages user-generated content and wider reach.

Key takeaway: Offering and incorporating creative low and no-alcohol drinks into your event marketing helps broaden your event’s appeal and taps into a booming wellness market.

3. Incorporate Functional and Wellness Beverages

Why it matters:
Consumers are increasingly seeking drinks that do more than just quench thirst — they want beverages that boost immunity, enhance mood, and support overall wellness.

Functional drinks like kombucha, adaptogen-infused elixirs, and probiotic waters are trending rapidly across the UK. According to Grand View Research, the UK kombucha market is experiencing significant growth, reflecting a broader consumer shift toward health-conscious beverage choices.

How to market it digitally:

• Educate with summer-smart content: Share fun, bite-sized facts about the cooling and health-boosting benefits of your summer event drinks using Instagram carousels or TikTok snippets.
• Host a “Summer Wellness Hour”: Introduce a dedicated time during your event featuring functional mocktails, chilled herbal teas, or coconut-based smoothies paired with light yoga or guided meditation sessions to attract wellness-seeking attendees and followers.
• Launch a sunny drip email series: Warm up your subscribers with refreshing wellness tips, exclusive early-bird offers, and sneak peeks of your summer drink menu to build buzz before the event.
• Run a “Find Your Summer Sip” quiz: Engage followers with a fun interactive quiz — like “Which tropical wellness drink suits your vibe?” — to boost shares, saveable content, and brand love.

Key takeaway: Wellness drinks resonate strongly with today’s health-conscious consumers and add a unique experiential layer to your summer event marketing.

4. Celebrate Global Flavours & Casual Sharing

Why it matters:

The UK’s multicultural culinary scene continues to influence festival menus, with street food-style sharing platters from Morocco, Korea, India, and the Mediterranean gaining huge popularity.

In fact, the UK street food market is now worth around £1.2 billion, with over 7,000 street food vendors across the country — a number that’s grown by 20% year-on-year, according to Street Food Business Expo 2024.

These communal dishes are perfect for summer social settings and make for excellent digital storytelling content.

How to market it digitally:

• Showcase colourful global dishes: Capture the essence of your summer event with high-quality photos and videos that highlight vibrant communities and cultures, rich textures, and the sizzling appeal of seasonal spices — let your visuals do the tempting to reach a broader audience!
• Create interactive “Taste the World” experiences: Develop digital trails or QR-coded booths where guests check in and share their food adventures on social media.
• Share behind-the-scenes chef stories: Authenticity is king—give your audience a glimpse into the culture and craft behind each dish.
• Run social media challenges: Encourage followers to share their favorite global dish memories with your hashtag to build community.
  

Key takeaway: Global flavours combined with social sharing formats help make your event feel like a worldwide celebration — perfect for digital engagement across various demographics.

5. Make Every Food Moment Branded and Shareable

Why it matters:
A well-executed food and beverage branding moment is a powerful marketing asset. People love capturing and sharing stunning or unique food photography on social media—whether it’s a cookie embossed with your logo or a cocktail with a glowing garnish. 

In fact, the hashtag #food appears on over 180 million Instagram posts, and about 54% of 18–24-year-olds regularly photograph their food to share online.

How to market it digitally:

• Design Instagram-worthy food presentations: Use branded coasters, napkins, edible logos, or signature colours to make your food instantly recognisable online.
• Encourage user-generated content (UGC): Run contests or giveaways rewarding the best photos shared with your event hashtag.
• Create “photo zones”: Set up attractive spots with your logo and event theme where attendees can snap pictures.
• Produce event highlight reels: Compile the best UGC and branded moments into dynamic videos for post-event promotion.
  

Key takeaway: Branded shareable moments create a ripple effect across social channels, boosting your event’s digital footprint exponentially.

Turn Food & Drink Trends into Digital Event Wins for your Brand

Tapping into the hottest UK food and beverage trends is your ticket to creating summer events that truly connect guests and observers with your brand. From vibrant plant-based plates and mindful sips to global flavours and Instagram-worthy moments, these elements don’t just delight guests—they amplify your brand’s digital buzz long after the last bite.

Ready to make your next summer event unforgettable? If you’re seeking expert support with social media content, email marketing, or a tailored event marketing strategy, head over to ClickDo — your trusted partner for  Digital Marketing Services, Digital PR, and Branding Support. We empower your brand to thrive in today’s fast-evolving landscape and stay ahead of future digital marketing trends.

Let’s make your brand the talk of the event season!

Author Profile

Manuela WillboldChief Marketing Officer

Blogger and Educator by Passion | Senior Online Media & PR Strategist at ClickDo Ltd. | Contributor to many Education, Business & Lifestyle Blogs in the United Kingdom & Germany | Summer Course Student at the London School of Journalism and Course Instructor at the SeekaHost University.

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