Coca‑Cola Europacific Partners has turned its marketing lens on one of Britain’s most familiar retail figures: the corner‑shop owner. According to the company’s announcement, a new portrait and mini‑documentary series, The Bosses, pairs high‑fashion photography with short films to put six local convenience store families centre stage as part of Coca‑Cola’s 125th anniversary activity in Great Britain. The campaign, the firm says, aims to celebrate the resilience and community role of independent retailers while drawing attention to often untold personal stories.

Docu‑series director Ross Bolidai described the films as “raw, emotive and stunningly honest” in the company release and said the work sought to reveal “the people behind the counter.” The campaign will also be amplified around the shops with out‑of‑home advertising, social media and regional PR, the company added. The project is underpinned by commissioned research that the company cites to argue corner shops retain a prominent place in British daily life. Coca‑Cola Europacific Partners points to Opinium polling showing that just over a third of people view their local corner shop as an essential resource, and that Gen Z are spending more at local convenience stores than any other generation—cited in the research as averaging about £19.30 per visit. Other figures released alongside the campaign suggest nearly a quarter of consumers now rely on corner shops more than other retail outlets, and that typical visit frequency and spend stand at roughly five visits a month and about £14.90 per visit. Industry coverage has picked up these statistics as evidence of a post‑pandemic resurgence in local shopping.

The Bosses pairs six named local retailers with two creative teams. Photographer Serena Brown produced the portrait series, and award‑winning director Ross Bolidai made the mini‑documentaries that follow family dynamics, community work and the everyday practicalities of running a small store. The six protagonists featured are Sunita Aggarwal (Spar, Leicester), Bobby Singh (BB Nevison, Pontefract), Keith Tomes (Costcutter, Swanage), Sophie Williams (Premier Broadway, Edinburgh), Kaual Patel (Nisa Local, Catford) and Bay Bashir (Go Local Extra, Middlesbrough). The films and images show owners engaged in causes ranging from large‑scale fundraising and local advice provision to community campaigning — activities the campaign uses to argue that many stores function as informal community hubs.

The creative choices — a Gen‑Z portrait photographer shooting “high‑fashion” portraits, and a documentary filmmaker known for intimate storytelling — were deliberate. Serena Brown’s portfolio and professional profile show a documentary portrait practice that privileges community subjects and authentic representation, and the company framed her involvement as a way to contemporise the corner‑shop narrative. Ross Bolidai’s background in factual and branded storytelling, and his listed industry awards and credits, were cited by the campaign to underline the films’ documentary ambition. Both the visual and film elements are positioned as attempts to nudge public perception beyond stereotypes of convenience retail.

Commercial and provenance messages run through the campaign as well. Coca‑Cola Europacific Partners uses the anniversary to stress its long UK presence and supply chain footprint; the company states that roughly 97% of its products sold in Britain are made in the UK and that many consumers underestimate that history. The campaign includes five‑figure donations to local causes chosen by each featured shop, which the company says is part of its community commitment. Packaging and provenance have also been singled out as strategic themes for CCEP’s anniversary activity, with the firm promoting a ‘Made in GB’ label to capitalise on consumer interest in British production.

Industry commentary accompanying the launch places the work in a wider commercial context. CCEP’s own materials highlight the economic significance of the convenience channel to the soft‑drinks market, while sector reporting has pointed to large annual soft‑drinks spend in local shops and quoted company figures on convenience sales. The campaign therefore reads as both a cultural celebration and a business‑facing reminder of the commercial value of small, local retailers to major suppliers.

Readers should, however, treat the findings and framing as those of a company campaign supported by commissioned research. The survey data and commercial statistics cited were commissioned by Coca‑Cola Europacific Partners and reported through its news channels and industry press, and the promotional nature of the activity is explicit. As such, the series is as much a branding exercise around Coca‑Cola’s 125‑year anniversary and its ‘Made in GB’ messaging as it is a cultural tribute — albeit one that has brought national creative talent and local stories to public attention.