[In the picture] Colruyt and IKEA throwing raves as a marketing stunt

Last weekend, two completely legal rave parties took place at IKEA and Colruyt stores in Belgium. For both retailers, this was an opportunity to appeal to a younger audience.

Bringing people together

A whopping 1,800 tickets sold out in just seven hours for a rave organized by Jump Up Cave last Sunday afternoon in the IKEA Ghent parking lot. A limited number of people were also able to dance inside the store itself, where six sets were played for groups of 150 people each. “We want to be more than just a store. We want to bring people together,” IKEA’s Julie Daems told HLN. The store has also made a name for itself in the past with stunts, such as a giant game of hide-and-seek and overnight stays in the showroom. You can watch a video recap of the IKEA rave here.

The coolest rave

For “the coolest rave of this summer,” you had to be at Colruyt in downtown Leuven on Saturday night—more specifically, in the refrigerated fresh food section. In a store that’s closing for a few months for renovations, the retailer threw a dance party, co-sponsored by Tout Bien, the beer brand of influencer Average Rob, and Lipton Ice Tea.

According to Wim Maeyens, CEO of Tout Bien, the idea originated during a brainstorming session back in April 2025. “What if we threw a party in the Colruyt fridge?” he wondered on LinkedIn. Tout Bien managed to convince Colruyt, which in turn brought Lipton on board. The obligatory salami and cheese “tastings” were also part of the event.

Colruyt, Lipton, and Tout Bien tied a nationwide in-store promotion to the party: customers at participating Colruyt and OKay stores received a festival T-shirt with the purchase of eighteen cans of Lipton or Tout Bien. Via a QR code on the collar of the T-shirt, about 200 customers had a chance to win entry to the party.

The rave kicked off two hours after closing time and 12 hours before the first workers started their shifts. For the supermarket chain, it was an opportunity to win over a younger audience, as you can see here as well.