September 2026, Brighton.
Ecom Insiders took its third event of the year to Brighton, joining Yolk House Fest for two days of BFCM sessions, beach volleyball and a headline DJ set from Fatboy Slim, helping raise £57,000 for Martlets Hospice.
On 9 and 10 September 2026, Ecom Insiders, the community for UK ecommerce brands created by Underground Ecom, headed to Brighton for its third event of the year. We teamed up with Yolk House for Yolk House Fest, its biggest annual celebration, which brought more than 250 people together and raised £57,000 for Martlets Hospice. That beat the event’s £50,000 charity pledge.
It was two days of learning, competition and celebration, and a brilliant example of the ecommerce community coming together for a great cause.
About Martlets Hospice
Martlets Hospice provides end-of-life care for people in Brighton and Hove, and is now part of the Southern Hospice Group. Fatboy Slim is a long-standing ambassador for the hospice and has supported it through fundraising events in the city for many years.
Every pound raised at Yolk House Fest goes towards that care.
Day one: pizza night in Brighton
Things kicked off the night before with a dinner at Franco Manca, hosted for brands and entrepreneurs from supergroup and BLUE14. Pizza, a few drinks and proper conversations with the founders and marketers we work alongside set the tone for the rest of the trip.
Day two: the Ecom Insiders BFCM session
The next morning, we ran our pre-BFCM Ecom Insiders session at Yolk House. Every talk was built around action, so brands could leave with ideas to put into practice before Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
- The state of marketing: James Matthewman opened the morning with a look at where marketing stands right now.
- Agency panel: Underground Ecom’s own Matt Young was joined by Jack McLaren from PATTRNS and Oliver Kenyon from ConversionWise.
- Performance intelligence: Gilbert Corrales spoke about using data to make better performance decisions.
- Retention during BFCM: Matt Young returned to the stage to share how brands can keep the customers they win over the busiest weekend of the year.
The Insider’s Dragons’ Den
To finish the session, Jim Lewcock hosted a live Insider’s Dragons’ Den. Lydia Thomas, Shaun Brown and Callum Herbert each delivered their elevator pitch to the room. Congratulations to Lydia, who came out on top.
Beach volleyball on Brighton seafront
In the afternoon, everyone headed down to Yellowave Beach Sports for the big beach volleyball tournament. Sixteen teams battled it out, and it turned out to be a brilliant way to meet new people. Congratulations to Version Two, who took the title.
Yolk House Fest with Fatboy Slim
After sunset drinks, the evening moved to the grand opening of Yolk House’s new retro-futuristic workspace at Rock Place in Kemptown.
Then came the highlight: Brighton’s own Fatboy Slim brought the house down with an incredible headline DJ set. It had full Boiler Room energy, with the crowd wrapped around the decks, and a few of the Underground Ecom team even made it behind them.
By the end of the night, the event had raised £57,000 for Martlets Hospice.
Thank you to our sponsors and partners
A massive thank you to Yolk House for hosting, to headline sponsor supergroup, to the extremely generous Sphere Digital Recruitment Group, and to Creative Process Digital and Leaf.
And thank you to all 250-plus people who came along and brought the energy, generosity and good vibes to Brighton. Memories for a lifetime.
What’s next for Ecom Insiders?
Brighton was Ecom Insiders’ third event of 2026, following the launch at Klaviyo’s London HQ in April and the Summer Soirée in London in July. The Ecom Insiders community is open to UK ecommerce brands who want to learn from peers who have done it before.
Want to be at the next one? Follow Ecom Insiders on LinkedIn or here to join the community.
About Underground Ecom
Underground Ecom is a London-based CRM and retention marketing agency, specialising in email, SMS and lifecycle marketing for DTC and ecommerce brands. We’re a Klaviyo Master Elite Partner and an accredited member of the Data & Marketing Association, and the team behind Ecom Insiders.
Sources
- Ecom Insider x Yolk House Fest event page (Luma, dates and schedule)
- Yolk House community page (Rock Place East launch)
- Southern Hospice Group (Wikipedia, Martlets background)
