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2026 marketing calendar: restaurant chestnuts

Noรฉmie Daniel
September 4, 2025
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In a sector as competitive as foodservice, spontaneity is not a strategy. To gain visibility, build customer loyalty and maximize sales, you need to anticipate and plan your highlights, punctuate your marketing campaigns, and capitalize on relevant chestnuts.

This 2026 marketing calendar dedicated to the restaurant industry provides you with a complete roadmap: month by month, essential dates, themes to exploit, and opportunities to seize. Whether you're an independent, chain or franchised restaurateur, this guide will help you structure your actions, avoid dead time, and give meaning to each of your communications.

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January 2026

January 1, 2026: New Year ๐Ÿฅ‚

January 6, 2026: Epiphany

January 6, 2026: Winter sales

January 19, 2026: Blue Monday

January 19, 2026: World Pop Corn Day ๐Ÿฟ

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February 2026

February 2, 2026: Candlemas ๐Ÿฅž

February 5, 2026: World Nutella Day

February 6, 2026 to February 6, 2026: Olympic Winter Games

February 14, 2026: Valentine's Day โค๏ธ

February 17, 2026: Chinese New Year ๐Ÿœ

February 17, 2026: Mardi Gras

February 18, 2026: Ramadan

February 21, 2026: Agricultural Show ๐Ÿ„

February 27, 2026: Pokemon Day

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March 2026

March 1, 2026 Oscar ceremony

March 1, 2026 Grandmother's Day

March 4, 2026 to March 05, 2026 Laylat ul Bara'ah

March 8, 2026 International Women's Day

March 10, 2026 Mario Day ๐ŸŽฎ

March 12, 2026 to March 15, 2026 World Tourism Fair

March 15, 2026 Night of Destiny

March 16, 2026 to March 21, 2026 Game Developers conference

March 17, 2026 Saint Patrick ๐Ÿ€

March 17, 2026 Nuit Du Doute

March 19, 2026 Eid el-Fitr

March 21, 2026 to March 20, 2026 Spring ๐ŸŒธ

March 31, 2026 End of winter truce

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April 2026

April 1, 2026 Pisces April ๐ŸŸ

April 1, 2026 to April 09, 2026 Pesach

April 3, 2026 Good Friday

April 5, 2026 Easter ๐Ÿฃ

April 6, 2026 Easter Monday

April 12, 2026 34th Anniversary of Disneyland Paris

April 12, 2026 Paris Marathon ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™‚๏ธ

April 22, 2026 Earth Day ๐ŸŒ

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May 2026

May 1, 2026 Labour Day

May 4, 2026 Star Wars Day

May 8, 2026 Gohan Day

May 9, 2026 Goku Day

May 10, 2026 Goten Day

May 12, 2026 to May 23, 2026 Cannes Film Festival ๐ŸŽฌ

May 19, 2026 to May 21, 2026 Microsoft Build

May 21, 2026 at Google I/O

May 23, 2026 Eurovision Final ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐ŸŽค

May 26, 2026 Eid el-Kebir

May 29, 2026 Neighbours' Day

May 30, 2026 UEFA Champion's League Final

May 31, 2026 Mother's Day

June 2026

June 1 to 5 WWDC Apple

June 11 Football World Cup โšฝ๏ธ

June 17 Muslim New Year

June 21 Father's Day

June 21 Fรชte de la Musique ๐ŸŽผ

June 21 Summer

June 23 Sonic's 35th birthday

June 25 to August 05 Summer sales

June 26 Achoura

June 30 World Asteroid Day ๐Ÿ”ญ

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July 2026

July 7 to July 05 Japan Expo Paris ๐ŸŽŒ

July 3 BAC results

July 4 to July 26 Tour de France ๐Ÿšด

July 9 Mario's 45th birthday

July 14th National Holiday ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท

July 17 World Emoji Day

July 19 World Cup Final

July 21 57th Anniversary of the first time man walked on the moon ๐ŸŒ™

July 23 to July 26 San Diego Comic Con

July 25 World Day of Grandparents

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August 2026

August 1 World French Fry Day ๐ŸŸ

August 15 Assumption

August 26 Al Mawlid

September 2026

September 5 to September 6 Braderie de Lille

September 5 World Beard Day ๐Ÿง”

September 7 Back to school

September 8 Apple Keynote

September 9 World Teddy Bear Day ๐Ÿงธ

September 17 to September 20 Tokyo Game Show

September 19 to October 04 Oktoberfest ๐Ÿป

September 19 to September 20 European Heritage Days

September 20 to Yom Kippur

September 21 to September 21 Fall ๐Ÿ‚

September 25 to September 28 Back-to-school French Days

September 27 World Tourism Day

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October 2026

October 01 World Coffee Day โ˜•๏ธ

October 01 World Chocolate Day ๐Ÿซ

October 01 World Vegetarian Day

October 04 Grandfather's Day

October 04 World Animal Day

October 13 World Burger Day ๐Ÿ”

October 14 to October 14 Paris Motor Show

October 16 World Bread Day ๐Ÿฅ–

October 23 to October 25 Comic Con Paris

October 25 Mother's Day

October 28 to November 01 Paris Games Week

October 31 Halloween ๐ŸŽƒ

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November 2026

November 1 All Saints' Day

November 1 Start of winter truce

November 2 Ballon d'Or ๐ŸŸ๏ธ

November 11 Singles Day

November 18 World Game Days

November 20 42nd Dragon Ball Anniversary

November 25 National Breakfast and Brunch Day ๐Ÿฅ

November 26 Thanksgiving

November 27 Black Friday ๐Ÿท๏ธ

November 29 to Advent

November 30 Cyber Monday

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December 2026

December 1 to 24 Advent calendar

December 3 to 11 Hanukkah

December 3 34th Anniversary of the First SMS

December 4 to 5 Telethon ๐Ÿ™

December 6 Saint Nicholas

December 12 Miss France election

December 21 Winter

December 24 Christmas Eve

December 25 Christmas ๐ŸŽ„

December 31 New Year's Eve

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How to use this calendar to boost your restaurant

You now have a 2026 marketing calendar tailored to the foodservice industry. But a calendar without action remains a dead letter: it's in the execution that the difference is made.

Here's what we recommend to make the most of this calendar:

  1. Select your priority highlights
    Not all events are worth activating. Choose 4 to 6 highlights for your concept: those in affinity with your customers, your offer or your positioning.
  2. Turn ideas into content and offers
    For each selected highlight, create offers (special menus, promotions, themed cards) and content (posts, stories, emailing). Combine them with a distribution calendar.
  3. Plan then adjust
    Create your annual editorial schedule now, with milestones for creation, validation and distribution. But stay flexible: monitor feedback, trends, performance, and adapt.
  4. Systematically measure
    For each campaign, define indicators (additional sales, opening rates, engagement, traffic). Analyze what works, and capitalize.
  5. Capitalize and recycle
    Don't start from scratch every year. Reuse and improve content, adjust visuals, update offers based on feedback.

This calendar is not a sacred to-do list, but a strategic framework. It's up to you to make it lively, relevant and aligned with your brand.

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Contact an expert
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Christophe Peinoche
Christophe Peinoche
Catering expert
"With 20 years' experience working for some of the world's largest foodservice groups, I'm helping the sector with its digital transformation through innovative digital solutions."
Make an appointment with Christophe
Romain Vardon
Romain Vardon
Catering expert
"With solid experience in developing key accounts, I'm supporting the digital transformation of the foodservice sector by proposing innovative digital solutions to optimize operations."
Make an appointment with Romain
Caroline Motamedi
Caroline Motamedi
Catering expert
"After several years' experience in a major foodservice group, I support key accounts in optimizing their operations and digital transformation."
Make an appointment with Caroline
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