Last year’s Premium Bottled Ale Report set out the five year target to double the size of the category to £660m by 2018, and this year’s indicates that current results are well ahead of this target, with the value of the category already increasing by £90m to £420m.
The report, which focuses on the off-trade, says the PBA category has delivered a 12% growth in both volume and value against the overall beer market, which is growing 3.2% by value.
The trend for premiumisation is still growing, with the PBA category attracting 500,000 more shoppers in the year, up 7% year-on-year.
The report characterises PBA drinkers as experimental by nature, with the report saying that consumers now recognise that the category delivers more innovations and new products than any other.
It names Hobgoblin as the ‘top recruiter’ and ‘most shopped brand’ with 20% growth on last year. Head of take home & export at Marston’s Beer Company, Carl Middleton, said: “This continuing trend of premimumisation shows that consumers are happy to pay a fair price for quality, variety and taste that the PBA category offers them.
“The category has been allocated more space by retailers this year which has paid off dividends, delivering an incremental £29m value – we are delighted that the growth of the category continues to exceed that of the beer market in general and we are confident that it will continue to do so.”