As we sit a day away from the four-day Platinum Jubilee weekend brimmed with events, festivities and food – Grocery Gazette highlights the retailers, collaborations and products to keep an eye out for during the royal holiday.
After 70 years of service, celebrations being held for the longest-reigning British monarch will be marked by the first ever Platinum Jubilee Pageant – supported by a raft of historic and up-and-coming British and international brands.
Taking place from tomorrow to 5 June, events will be dotted with Britain’s favourite and most iconic brands and retailers, from Heinz’s festive makeover to the royal return of Aldi’s beloved Kevin the Carrot.
Here’s a run-down of which retailers and brands will be lending a hand on the historic occasion…
READ MORE: Waitrose and M&S named among British brands supporting the Platinum Jubilee Pageant
Retailers embracing Royal connections
Both Waitrose and M&S have been selected to support the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, along with a raft of high-profile brands such as Fortnum & Mason, John Lewis, Sotheby’s and Bloomberg.
“Moments of genuine celebration have been rare in the last two years and the Platinum Jubilee Pageant is a once in a lifetime chance for us to come together – across the nation and the Commonwealth – and recognise the remarkable reign of Her Majesty The Queen,” commented M&S brand marketing director, Sharry Cramond.
Customer directors for both John Lewis and Waitrose, Claire Pointon and Martin George also spoke of their involvement, saying: “On behalf of John Lewis and Waitrose, we are honoured to be an official partner of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant.
“We are very proud of the Royal Warrants we hold at Waitrose and are very much looking forward to being part of this hugely exciting celebration.”
Waitrose has also exclusively partnered with Buckingham Palace Gin and Moët & Chandon to offer limited edition bottles to celebrate the Jubilee weekend. The Buckingham Palace Gin (£40) was created using hand-picked botanicals from Buckingham Palace’s garden which were then combined to create the ‘unique’ gin.
READ MORE: Waitrose partners with Buckingham Palace Gin and Moët for Jubilee
To promote Jubilee spending, Tesco has launched a limited-edition Jubilee Card, which will be awarded to those nominated by their community for being ‘royally good’, giving them £700 to spend in-store or online.
Shoppers can nominate candidates through the Big 4 grocer’s social channels, using the hashtag #TescoJubileeHeroes to outline why their chosen nominee deserves the ‘crown’
Discount retailer Aldi has brought back its famous Kevin the Carrot toy to help celebrate the Jubilee, with a selection of limited-edition celebratory royal characters based on the iconic carrot soft toy will be launched instore and online later this week.
Additionally, Iceland has partnered with community charity The Big Lunch for the street parties and celebrations being held across the nation.
This marks the second year that the supermarket has partnered with The Big Lunch, which is an annual get together run by the Eden Project charity.
Though not an official sponsor, Big 4 grocer Morrisons has also chosen to honour the Queen ahead of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, with the launch of its ‘Elizabeth’ sponge cake. The Jubilee-themed creation follows the recipe of a Victoria Sponge, traditionally one of the most loved British cakes, which is also a royal favourite. Apparently.
According to the grocer, the Duchess of Cornwall recently shared her preferred recipe, which involved toppings such as jam and cream spread on sponges and topped with berries.
Nisa on the other hand has launched a variety of deals for its partners to help drive sales ahead of the Jubilee celebrations.
READ MORE: Heinz Salad Queen: Sauces get royal Jubilee makeover
FMCG brands get Royal makeovers
Heinz Salad Cream and HP Sauce are both receiving royal makeovers to mark the historic event. Food giant Heinz is releasing limited-edition bottles of its most popular sauces which will be labelled ‘HM Sauce’ and ‘Heinz Salad Queen’ to celebrate the monarch’s 70th year of reigning.
Another collaboration has seen wine producer Virgin wines and East Sussex vineyard Henners coming together to release a limited edition Platinum Jubilee Sparkling Brut. The partnership will result in 500 bottles of exclusive, sparkling wine which uses a classic champagne blend of grapes, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
“This has been a real passion-project for the whole team at Virgin Wines. It was important to us that we had the best possible wine to offer, whilst keeping it relevant to the occasion, which is why we opted for an English sparkling,” wine buyer Sophie Lord explained.
The Jubilee Pageant’s official wine Whispering Angel have released limited-edition bottles featuring the “Jubilee Pageant logo adorning an embossed, platinum-shaded Whispering Angel label.”
Sacha Lichine, who launched the Whispering Angel brand in 2006, said the limited edition bottles were “inspired in part by the strong connection between the United Kingdom and France, so it seems fitting that they are being recognised and included alongside so many revered British companies and brands also partnering for the Queen’s Platinum celebration.”
READ MORE: Virgin Wines unveils Platinum Jubilee sparkling wine
Cadbury’s will also launching Jubilee-themed collectable tins of Roses, while yoghurt brand, Tims Dairy, has partnered with Tiptree jam owner Wilkin & Sons to create a new limited-edition yoghurt. The Strawberry Royale Greek-style yoghurt was launched in March at Waitrose and Ocado.
To bring some royalty-inspired artistic flare to the mix, Proper Snacks have partnered with artist and graphic designer Little Fish to create a royal portrait with the iconic Propercorn packaging.
The snack company has put a playful spin on a renaissance painting of Mrs. Thomas Scott Jackson by George Romney, using its Sweet & Salty pack design – to encourage shoppers to “snack like a queen”.
The slogan comes with a social media competition, offering winners 6 months worth of snacks by tagging @proper along with a picture of how they ‘Snack Like a Queen’ on the full Proper Snacks range.
Wine retailer Majestic will also be selling a limited edition Cotswolds Platinum Jubilee Gin inspired by the traditional British dessert Eton Mess.
The alcoholic treat which contains 46% ABV boasts bursts of “strawberry, raspberry & Madagascan vanilla” alongside notes of “citrus and pink pepper”.
Adding to the festivities is Fox’s new range of sweets to celebrate “Great British” puddings in June. The UK’s most popular hard boiled sweet brand’s limited edition collection includes four iconic British flavours: Jelly and Custard, Peach Melba, Lemon Meringue Tart – and a “tantalising mystery flavour”.
The full list of Jubilee partners include Burberry, Moët & Chandon, M&S and St James’s House and Pageant Partners include Waitrose, John Lewis, Air Partner, Boodles, Bloomberg, Cadbury, Cadogan, Endava, Fortnum & Mason, McDonald’s, Meta, Sotheby’s, Waitrose & John Lewis and Whispering Angel.
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