Wrexham boosted by Gatorade sponsorship

PepsiCo’s head of global sports hails partnerships as “great” example of sports crossover potential with entertainment.

Wrexham AFC have announced Gatorade as their official sports drink, with the PepsiCo drinks brand to fuel the club’s men’s and women’s teams.

Gatorade will appear on the sidelines at every Wrexham match, while Gatorade products will be shown within the upcoming season of the ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ docuseries produced by FX. The partnership will see Gatorade distribute a range of hydration options to Wrexham players during games and training.

Future plans for the partnership will see co-branded merchandise produced, including exclusive Wrexham Gx bottles and towels.

Wrexham’s players will also gain access to resources offered by the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI), including performance optimisation tools such as sweat testing and developing customised fuel plans.

Wrexham co-chairmen, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, said in a statement: “Our decision early on to have Aviation Gin in those water bottles was reckless and shortsighted. Luckily, our team has forgiven us and has gone on to perform admirably, in part thanks to Gatorade. We look forward to a few more Gatorade dunks in the years to come.”

Speaking exclusively to SportsPro, PepsiCo’s head of global sports and partnerships Adam Warner said that conversations between Wrexham’s owners and the drinks company on a potential partnership began “just under 12 months ago”. He reveals that McElhenney and Reynolds had then “reached out” to PepsiCo, who in turn were very interested in the Welsh club’s journey.

Warner pointed out that the announcement, which is a multi-year commitment, marks a formalisation of the partnership, with Gatorade having already been working with Wrexham during the 2023/24 season. The men’s team recently clinched promotion to the English third-tier League One, while the club’s women’s side competes in the top-tier Welsh women’s soccer league.

From PepsiCo’s perspective, Warner said that the drinks giant is keen to use its “authenticity” to help fuel Wrexham’s journey up the English soccer pyramid.

“Fundamentally, we want to make sure that we are leveraging our authenticity as a brand, to help fuel the story of Wrexham, going forward,” Warner said.

“There’s a number of KPIs that sit behind that in terms of the audiences we’re reaching, the level of engagement that we’re delivering with those audiences.

“We’ve got great confidence that these two great brands coming together is going to help drive great storytelling, which will naturally drive great reach and engagement.”

PepsiCo has been a key backer of women’s soccer, as shown through its partnership of the Uefa Women’s Champions League and other tournaments run by the European body. Warner said that the decision to include Wrexham’s women’s team in the partnership “came very natural and quickly”, given the brand’s strong focus on driving gender equity in sport.

According to Warner, Gatorade has an “authentic integration” into the upcoming season of the ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ series. The drinks brand sees the activations within the series as an opportunity to “unlock broader audiences”, expanding its reach beyond soccer fans.

With Wrexham’s docuseries a hit with international audiences, Warner said that the partnership was a great fit for PepsiCo’s broader vision of entering strategic partnerships built around the crossover between sports and entertainment.

“For a long time, we’ve recognised the crossover between sports and entertainment, the blurring of the lines between those two things,” Warner said. “I think Wrexham is a great example of that.

“It’s created a great culture-led story. And it’s captivating sports fans and beyond, given their impact they’re having on the community. We’re pleased to be a part of it going forward.”

Wrexham boosted by Gatorade sponsorship: SOURCE: https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/wrexham-gatorade-pepsico-partnership-official-sports-drink/