Cider now worth £2 billion to UK pubs and bars
Around 96 pints and 25 bottles of cider are being sold in an average pub each week, equal to approximately £433 in sales, according to new data.
The cider category, which is seeing increasing loyalty from drinkers, has seen a 19% increase in serves per occasion, now rivalling beer at 3.2 serves, according to the Heineken cider report titled In-Cider Knowledge.
The uplift is coming from cider being considered appropriate as a drinks option for more settings and situations than ever before with more than 40% of cider occasions now happening while guests are eating.
Speaking to the drinks business, the ciderologist Gabe Cook said that looking at other figures he had noticed that “value is up, but total volume is down and down during the warmest and most cider-drinking summer on record” and so he admitted that his feeling was “less towards the growth and positivity of value and more that there are warning signs from the drop in volume”.
Sales are up
Despite being a mature category, the research revealed that cider sales are up by 3.5% year-on-year in the on-trade. Plus, the UK remains a nation of cider fans, with the beverage now being the second fastest growing drinks category in the on-trade according to the latest data from NIQ.
The research outlined the fact that cider now has more than 9% volume share of total wet sales in the on-trade and has seen the largest increase in serves per occasion in the last year, up by nearly a fifth (+19%) to 3.2 serves per occasion. The data flags that this is almost in line with beer which is at 3.3 serves per occasion, and is ahead of drinks like cocktails which only see around 2.3 serves per occasion.
Mainstream apple and premium draught
According to the report, growth is being driven by the rising popularity of mainstream apple and premium draught, as evidenced by the brands which experienced the two biggest increases in value over the period – Inch’s, up 28% to £260 million, and Aspall Cyder, up 14% to £149 million.
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Key to the findings was the fact that, while it remains a crucial choice for wet-led occasions, cider is clearly evolving and is demonstrating how the drink is able to fit a wide range of occasions that other categories can’t always meet, such as being appropriate for being served while dining.
Speaking more broadly about the trends being seen in cider, Cook told db: “We are seeing a shift over to craft which does come with a higher price-point, but if it’s not really much in line with the rate of inflation then how much value does that value figure have?”
Cook observed that “there is shifting into craft and that is a great thing and there are great opportunities for cider with food and for people to explain the wonderful way there are ciders out there that talk about terroir and talk about varieties and food-matching opportunities and are made with particular production processes – like naturally sweet or Champagne methods or barrel-aged – whatever it may be.”
Diversification
Cook suggested that, even though mainstream apple is doing well, at some point, “the diversification of cider away from the mainstream is actually going to be critical for cider going forward” this he explained, was “because from a big volume perspective other ciders [other than apple] are seen as the thing to keep cider afloat”.
Describing the data found in Heineken’s report, Heineken UK on-trade sales director Will Rice highlighted how “the UK is the world’s largest cider market, with over 450 cider makers across the country producing from orchard to glass” and noted how the latest report shows that “as a nation, our passion for cider remains strong”. This means that as “the second fastest growing drinks category in the UK on-trade and growing in popularity across new occasions, particularly with food, cider is a category fully deserving of space and focus in pubs and bars of all sizes and shapes”.
He added: “Our goal at Heineken UK is to always help licensees maximise value in their outlets and so we’ve designed this report to help them make the most of the opportunity and to sell more cider, to more people, more often.”
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