Case study · Open water swimming
Buddyswim enters the UK market
- Buddyswim with FCUP Sports
- 2026
- Open water swimming
How Buddyswim, working with FCUP Sports, entered the UK open water market — building brand awareness and commercial growth through event partnerships, multiple retailers and a season-long sales presence.
- Client
- Buddyswim with FCUP Sports
- Sport
- Open water swimming
- Year
- 2026
The challenge
The brief was brand awareness and commercial growth: getting Buddyswim known among UK open water swimmers, and turning that recognition into retail sales.
What we did
Working with FCUP Sports across the open water season, we built the UK entry around event partnerships — including Chillswim — listings with multiple retailers, a hands-on sales presence at the events where swimmers gather, and a micro-influencer programme linked to affiliate revenue.
The outcome
Stockists signed, strong brand awareness among UK open water swimmers, and significant retail revenue.
Buddyswim came to the UK open water market with two goals: build brand awareness, and turn it into commercial growth.
Working with FCUP Sports across the April–September season, we made the brand visible where swimmers already are. Event partnerships — Chillswim among them — put Buddyswim in front of open water swimmers on the day; listings with multiple retailers gave them somewhere to buy; and a sales presence at events joined the two up.
We also recruited micro influencers and linked them to affiliate revenue, turning trusted voices in the open water community into a direct route to sales.
The result: stockists signed, strong brand awareness with UK swimmers, and significant retail revenue over the season.
