CIDER: Pear necessities

One interesting development in the category is the development of “light” variants – lower calorie ciders produced with the use of artificial sweeteners. Since last year’s launch of Magners Light, S&N’s Bulmers has since added its own light variant.
The cider category is clearly being driven by various innovations, whether in terms of draught, packaging, or new variants – something that seems to be creating far more benefit than harm. As Thatcher says: “As long as it’s done well, it keeps the interest in the category. As with all things, not all new products will be highly successful or be around long, but it creates interest. It’s great to see these new products coming in. There has been quite a lot recently, but this is the time of year for it – everyone’s gearing up for the summer.”
For Clark, it’s “about getting back to what motivates consumers to trial cider, about motivating consumers into staying in the category, and getting those who’ve lapsed back into it”.
As for over ice, the development that presumably started it all – there is no question that it remains an essential part of the category, but Fairbairn is philosophical on this point: “Over ice may come and go – we can’t own that.”
Guild adds, however: “We are seeing a huge trend for people migrating up from cider’s entry point of mainstream over-ice ciders into the premium end.”