Tate & Lyle: Barcode Festival Sampling & Pop-Up.
Driving high-volume product trial, industry engagement and brand visibility across targeted corporate locations and Barcode: the UK’s premier FMCG festival.
Barcode festival: campaign overview.
Client: Tate & Lyle
Campaign Type: B2B & B2C pop-up activation, promo vehicle sampling tour, festival activation
Location: Barcode Festival, London media houses, Tate & Lyle production facilities
Budget: £27.5k
Key Goal: Drive high-volume product trial, industry engagement and brand visibility across targeted corporate locations and the UK’s premier FMCG festival.
Barcode Festival: the strategic challenge & objective.
Tate & Lyle required a multi-faceted activation to reach key industry decision-makers, media partners, and end consumers simultaneously across London. The activation needed to seamlessly transition from targeted corporate pop-ups at major media hubs and production facilities to a high-energy, large-scale pop-up experience at Barcode Festival, the UK grocery sector’s biggest trade event.
The iMP solution: fully branded ice cream van & pop-up sampling tour.
iMP Experiential & Product Sampling designed, managed, and executed an end-to-end multi-site pop-up tour utilizing a custom-wrapped vintage ice cream van.
- Promo vehicle customisation & production: transformed our promotional ice cream van into a bespoke Tate & Lyle mobile sampling unit, featuring full vehicle wraps, branded deckchairs, umbrellas, and custom promotional kit
- Corporate & media pop-ups: delivered direct-to-stakeholder activations across 4 London media houses and 2 production facilities, engaging key partners and corporate teams during office hours
- Barcode Festival headline activation: positioned the branded ice cream van prominently at Barcode Festival, creating an irresistible pop-up destination for thousands of FMCG brand managers, buyers, and industry leaders
- End-to-end campaign management: provided full event staffing (1 EM, 2 BAs), stock logistics, vehicle management, site setup, and compliance across all London touchpoints
Results & FMCG industry reach.
By combining targeted corporate pop-ups with a high-impact presence at Barcode Festival, iMP Experiential delivered 5,550 direct product samples and over 8,000 brand engagements within a £27.5k budget. The activation effectively positioned Tate & Lyle at the forefront of the grocery and media sector while establishing a clear blueprint for high-ROI festival pop-up activations.
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Barcode Festival is the premier annual trade event for the UK grocery and FMCG industry. Hosting a custom pop-up activation at Barcode allowed Tate & Lyle to directly engage over 4,000 FMCG brand managers, buyers, and industry decision-makers in a high-energy, memorable setting.
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iMP Experiential & Product Sampling manages end-to-end activation logistics, including custom vehicle wrapping, stock temperature control, site access permits, route planning, and complete build/breakdown setups across corporate offices, factory sites, and major event grounds.
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Yes. Our promotional ice cream vans feature full external branding wraps, custom side paneling, branded serving counters, and optional activation extras like branded deckchairs, parasols, and customised staff uniforms.
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For the Tate & Lyle Barcode Festival and London pop-up tour, iMP deployed 1 Event Manager and 3 Brand Ambassadors. This core team successfully distributed 5,550 samples and generated over 8,000 direct brand interactions while maintaining high compliance and engagement standards.
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CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
David and team at iMP are the real deal - kind, personable, dependable, professional, and offer a craftsmanship that rivals any agency I've encountered in my career. We will absolutely be using iMP again for any future UK activations (if they will have us) and highly recommend for any companies seeking an incredible experience - ESPECIALLY if you're a US-based team like us, and need an expert on location.
Brand Director
Life360
Had a wonderful experience working with David and the whole iMP team for an event this summer! David went above and beyond to help wherever possible and the branded ice cream van turned out beautifully. Hope to work with iMP again soon!
Brand Manager
ETTG
We worked with iMP for our event stand and staffing of the Ideal Home Show. David and the team were fantastic, our stand was incredible and we had so many compliments on it. The staff were great, they are really high energy and engaged our consumers at the stand. I would highly recommend if you are looking to run any sampling or experiential events for your brand.
Brand Manager
Snuggledown
Hiring iMP for an event I was leading on for a new client was a great decision. They turned around a high quality sampling event and promo vehicle with a very short turnaround time, and their staff on the day were incredibly enthusiastic and professional. They made the process easy and the client very happy, we'll definitely be working with them again.
Brand Director
Lee Kum Kee
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