Erling Haaland and Walovi: A Herbal Drink's Global Ambition

The world is watching Erling Haaland chase goals at the Fifa World Cup 2026. China is watching him sell a drink.

Every few minutes, between matches and highlight reels, the same image flashes across screens: the Norway striker, ice-blue gaze fixed on the camera, lifting a bottle of Walovi – a Chinese herbal drink that has quietly become a global talking point.

This is not a boot deal or a standard energy-drink tie-in. It is a collision of two very different football cultures and one of the most marketable faces in the sport.

Haaland, World Cup star – and herbal pitchman

Anyone tuned into this World Cup will have seen it by now. The clips bounce around social media: Haaland in a crisp campaign shot, the Walovi logo prominent, the message clear. The company wants its product to travel as far and as fast as his goals.

For Chinese brands, this is the dream. Attach your name to a striker who scores in bursts, whose numbers break records and whose highlights live forever online. For Walovi, the bet is that the same energy that terrifies defenders can move shelves in supermarkets from Beijing to Berlin.

The drink itself comes from a long tradition of Chinese herbal beverages, a category rooted in wellness and everyday ritual rather than the sugar rush of typical sports drinks. By putting Haaland at the centre of the campaign, Walovi is stepping directly into the global sports arena.

A Chinese brand on football’s biggest stage

The World Cup has always been a shop window. Players sell themselves. Brands sell everything else. Walovi’s move is bolder than most: a domestic herbal drink using a European superstar to speak to both home fans and a worldwide audience in one hit.

The strategy is simple. Millions tune in for the football. They leave knowing the name of a Chinese drink they had never heard of a month ago.

For Haaland, it is another sign of his reach. For Walovi, it is a statement of intent. A Chinese herbal drink is no longer content with regional recognition; it wants a seat at football’s top table.

In a tournament built on fine margins, Walovi has already scored the breakthrough it wanted: people are talking.