Lidl Germany becomes SK Gaming partner

The German esports organization SK Gaming has announced a partnership with the German international supermarket chain Lidl, which will serve as the organization's official fresh food partner. As part of the partnership, Lidl will supply SK Gaming centers in Cologne and Berlin with fresh food to help the organization feed efficiently. Financial details of the partnership were not disclosed.

The supermarket chain's logo will be displayed on SK Gaming jerseys in 2021, and the two sides have planned various joint promotions throughout the year. In addition, Lidl and SK Gaming have created a commercial that will be broadcast by several German TV channels, including Sport1.

Lidl joins two other German supermarket chains that have entered esports as a sponsor. In 2019, Germany's largest supermarket chain (by number of stores nationwide) Edeka entered eSports through a partnership with the eSports academy of Berlin Football Club Hertha BSC. Another German supermarket chain that has taken up esports is REWE, which has partnered with the esports arm of 25% shareholder SK Gaming and the football club FC Cologne, which has been playing for its virtual Bundesliga team (VBL) since March 2020.

Lidl, which also sponsors the German national handball team until 2022, recently shifted the focus of its target group to young pricing clients, which is reflected in its marketing structure. In addition to its new partnership with SK Gaming, Lidl is active on platforms like TikTok.

SK Gaming has also partnered with several other brands to promote healthy lifestyles, including URSAPHARM eye care brand Arzneimittel HYLO, Krombacher Brewery and Body Kitchen, which creates cookbooks targeted at teens and young people.