Milkshake Festival

What Milkshake Festival does

Milkshake Festival is a Netherlands-based non-profit organization founded in 2012 that operates an annual electronic dance music festival and related indoor and international event editions in Amsterdam. The core product, Milkshake Festival (Weekender), runs each year in Amsterdam's city centre and has historically featured up to 11 stages per day showcasing electronic, house, disco, pop, techno, R&B, and dancehall from (inter)national artists and performance artists. The festival positions itself as an inclusive platform for underrepresented communities, explicitly celebrating diversity across skin color, body shape, sexual preference, and gender identity.

Beyond the flagship Weekender, the organization operates three adjacent product lines: Milkshake Indoor, a multi-room indoor format previously hosted at Ahoy Rotterdam and Amaze during Amsterdam Dance Event; Milkshake International, with co-produced editions in São Paulo in 2017 and 2018; and Mini Milkshake, an accessibility-focused partnership event with the For All Who Love Foundation that hosts over a thousand visitors with disabilities and their caretakers at Westergas in Amsterdam. The business also runs Milkshake Boutique, a Shopify-based online merchandise shop.

The revenue model is concentrated in one-time ticket sales for the annual festival and indoor events, supplemented by branded merchandise. Distribution is entirely direct-to-consumer via the official Shopify ticketing and merchandise storefronts, with marketing through the owned website, email newsletter, organic social media, and press accreditation workflows. The organization operates with a 1-10 employee headcount and has no disclosed funding, parent company, or external investors.

Name

Milkshake Festival

Legal name

Milkshake Festival

Website

https://milkshakefestival.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Milkshake Festival is a Netherlands-based non-profit founded in 2012 that operates an annual inclusive electronic dance music festival in Amsterdam, complemented by indoor editions, a São Paulo international edition, and an accessibility-focused Mini Milkshake program partnered with the For All Who Love Foundation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Music Festivals

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Festival Organizers & Promoters (MPAGAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Festival & Event Producers/Organizers (MPAIAFAC), Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA)

Keywords

• Electronic dance festival
• Live music events
• Festival ticketing
• Indoor dance events
• Inclusive music festival

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Festival Tickets: Primary revenue from selling tickets to the annual Milkshake Festival (Weekender) in Amsterdam, as well as indoor events and international editions.
2. Milkshake Boutique: Online merchandise shop selling branded products through their Shopify storefront.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Milkshake Festival produces and sells tickets to an annual open-minded electronic dance music festival in Amsterdam city centre, complemented by indoor dance event editions, past international co-productions, and an accessibility-focused Mini Milkshake programme. The organization also sells branded apparel and merchandise through its Milkshake Boutique online store.

Product overview

Milkshake Festival operates as an event and entertainment company offering multiple festival products: the flagship Milkshake Festival (Weekender) outdoor event in Amsterdam, the indoor Milkshake Indoor events at venues like Ahoy Rotterdam and Amaze, international Milkshake International editions, and the accessibility-focused For All Who Love Foundation x Mini Milkshake partnership. The company also maintains a Milkshake Boutique online shop for merchandise sales. The portfolio centers on electronic dance music festivals that celebrate diversity and provide platforms for underrepresented communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Milkshake Boutique: Festival merchandise shop available at the event and online.
• Mini Milkshake

Products and services

• Milkshake Festival (Weekender) Annual open-minded electronic dance music festival held in Amsterdam city centre since 2012, featuring up to 11 stages per day showcasing (inter)national event organizations, artists, and performance artists across electronic, house, disco, pop, techno, R&B, and dancehall genres. Targeted at individual electronic music enthusiasts and underrepresented communities.
• Milkshake Indoor Indoor event editions of the Milkshake Festival featuring multiple rooms with various music genres, vogue balls, and performances. Previous editions held at Ahoy in Rotterdam and at Amaze during Amsterdam Dance Event. Targeted at individual festival-goers seeking year-round Milkshake programming.
• Milkshake International International co-produced editions of the Milkshake Festival brand, with editions co-produced in São Paulo, Brazil in 2017 and 2018. Targeted at international electronic music and festival audiences.
• For All Who Love Foundation x Mini Milkshake Accessibility-focused festival experience held at Westergas in Amsterdam in partnership with the For All Who Love Foundation, providing an afternoon of music, DJs, dancers, activities, and food and drinks for over a thousand visitors with psychological or physical disabilities and their caretakers.
• Milkshake Boutique Online merchandise shop selling branded festival-related apparel and products through a Shopify storefront. Targeted at festival attendees and brand supporters seeking Milkshake-branded merchandise.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• For All Who Love FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual partnership where Milkshake Festival partners with the For All Who Love Foundation. This foundation pays special attention to marginalized groups in 4 pillars: LGBTQIA+, the elderly, people with disabilities, and supports projects against racism and discrimination. The foundation enables over a thousand visitors with disabilities and their caretakers to attend Mini Milkshake events at Westergas in Amsterdam.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Pukkelpop: Established Belgian multi-stage music festival with strong electronic programming. Comparable as a nearby multi-genre festival that draws from the same Benelux electronic-event audience that feeds Milkshake.
• Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE): Amsterdam-based leading electronic music conference and multi-venue festival. A key context-setter for Milkshake's Indoor Amaze editions and competes for the same electronic-music enthusiast audience during the same autumn period.
• Tomorrowland: Belgium-headquartered global electronic music festival brand with worldwide editions. Comparable as a large multi-stage electronic festival operator, though broader commercial and much larger in scale than Milkshake.
• Lowlands: Major Dutch three-day multi-stage music festival with electronic programming among other genres. Comparable as a Dutch multi-stage festival brand competing for similar discretionary attendee spend during the summer festival season.

Direct peers

• Down The Rabbit Hole: Large multi-day Dutch music festival with broad electronic-adjacent programming. Comparable as a Dutch multi-stage festival organizer targeting similar mainstream-leaning electronic music fans.
• Mysteryland: Long-running Dutch electronic dance music festival (Haarlemmermeer) with multi-stage programming. Closest direct peer to Milkshake in terms of being an established, multi-stage Dutch electronic festival competing for the same attendee pool.
• Awakenings Festival: Major Dutch techno/hard electronic festival operating multi-day, multi-stage events. Directly comparable in scale, format, and target audience to Milkshake's electronic music festival positioning.
• Defqon.1 (Q-dance): Major Dutch hard-dance electronic festival brand. Comparable as a Dutch electronic festival promoter running flagship multi-stage events with international touring editions.
• DGTL Festival: Amsterdam-based multi-day electronic music festival with strong values positioning around sustainability. Comparable to Milkshake's mission-anchored festival concept and its Amsterdam dance-event audience.

Emerging players

• Boiler Room: Global electronic music broadcasting platform that also produces live events and festival programming. Comparable in focusing on electronic music community-building, though distributing primarily online rather than solely as a festival operator.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/milkshakefestival
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/milkshake-festival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Milkshake Festival