Bottled cider trends report: the joy of six

Bottled cider in particular has performed extremely well, with the explosion of fruit ciders rejuvenating what had been an ailing category. Laurie MacDonald looks at six compelling ciders out there

Cider sales have been far more resilient than beer sales in the past five years but the two categories are linked, with cider sales seeming to rise when beer sales drop, and cider sales dropping off as beer has regained popularity as the craft beer revolution gathers pace.

Stand-out performers such as Rekorderlig and Kopparberg have taken the pub trade by storm and many customers have come to expect a diverse bottled cider offering in their favourite watering holes.

CGA Strategy data shows volume sales of premium packaged ciders increasing by 2.8%, meaning the category is worth almost £729m. This illustrates that even when draught cider growth is flat, the bottled category is motoring ahead and driving sales for pubs and bars.

Here are six packaged ciders every pub should consider stocking:

Kopparberg

Swedish brand Kopparberg saw a 9.4% increase in volume sales last year, adding £26m to its top line. Kopparberg has helped the fruit cider category go from strength to strength, with sales of its Strawberry & Lime flavour increasing 27% in the past year.

Kopparberg Mixed Fruit continues to dominate, with volumes and value approaching double that of its nearest competitors. Owned by Cider of Sweden, Kopparberg ensured good distribution globally by teaming up with SABMiller.

This, coupled with Kopparberg’s head start as one of the first big flavoured cider brands, has given them a strong foundation. A consideration for any back bar fridge.

Aspall

One of the top performers last year according to CGA data, Aspall has gone from being quietly confident to one to watch in the cider market. “Crafted in Suffolk”, Aspall is a brand with history and provenance in spades. Aspall Suffolk Cyder grew by a modest, but respectable, 2.8% value and 4.6% volume this year.

Although these numbers aren’t astronomical, it illustrates a willingness among consumers to embrace the premium image and provenance of a quality traditional apple cider such as Aspall. A great one to stock to tempt craft beer drinkers into the cider category.

With all the hallmarks of quality, Aspall has nailed down the classy premium image.

Rekorderlig

Swedish flavoured-cider giants Rekorderlig has also helped light the way forward with its Strawberry- Lime flavour. Launched in 2008, the brand has grown exponentially, with volume and value growth at over 24%.

Molson Coors acquired the brand in July, which implies it has faith in the brand to keep performing, and will help market penetration by utilising Molson Coors’ extensive distribution network. Rekorderlig has a good track record of innovative flavours to stock your fridges, such as Wildberries and Passionfruit, which have both performed strongly in the past year among drinkers.

The company is hoping to break into the apple cider market too and has released a new Dry Apple variant, which it says complements its existing portfolio.

Westons

With its traditional draught cider flying off the pumps, Westons also makes a good show on the growth front among its main bottled brands. Stowford Press, Wyld Wood Organic and Old Rosie are seeing value and volume up 4%.

Definitely a great range to stock, Stowford Press is a well-established brand, Wyld Wood’s organic credentials position it well with health-conscious drinkers, and Old Rosie leverages the traditional scrumpy market very effectively.

Bulmers

Still one of the biggest names in bottled cider, Bulmers benefits from great market penetration, a strong distribution network and good brand awareness. While Bulmers Original has suffered, losing more than 7% in value and volume sales, the flavoured Red Berries & Lime variant has grown by a massive 30% in volume and 7% in value.

A good range to stock if your customers prefer well-known brands, the growth of Red Berries & Lime shows the company is aware of consumer tastes and is capable of moving to meet them.

Addlestones

Owned by C&C group (which also owns Bulmers, Magners, Gaymers and Blackthorn among others), Addlestones is one of the stars of the company’s portfolio this year. Addlestones is a twice-fermented unfiltered cloudy English cider. With 4% volume growth and 6% value growth, Addlestones taps very effectively into the trend for unfiltered drinks that has been so successful in the beer category. A good one to stock for adventurous cider drinkers looking for new variants within the category, Addlestones has also built a strong premium image.

And the big loser...

Pear​

Not limited to any one brand, sales of pear ciders have tumbled as consumers have gone on to discover more exciting fruit flavours. It is yet to be seen if pear cider will soon cease to be a category in its own right and may be folded into the general flavoured cider category in future.

We’ll have to wait and see.

All statistics sourced from CGA Strategy and are MAT (moving annual totals)​​

The category’s future

Chris Wisson, senior drinks analyst at Mintel market researchers, reveals his predictions for bottled cider, and how to get the most out of it.

“Attitudes towards when people drink cider are changing, it no longer has to be seen exclusively as a drink for the summer months.

“A lot of brands have innovated and have really targeted boosting consumption during the winter months.

“When it’s hot, sales will always be at their best and cider did a great job of leveraging that. Arguably, Magners rejuvenated the category by advocating serving over ice and it’s been almost too effective, consumers automatically go to cider when it’s hot but they don’t necessarily consider it during colder weather.

“Beer has been a lot more effective at using different styles, lager is most popular in the summer but ales and stouts are geared toward colder temperatures.

“We’re already seeing something of a slowdown in flavoured growth because it’s so huge. There will have to be a move back towards the apple though and the success of the category rests on how well they can innovate around the apple, because that’s the largest segment of the market, and when it declined last year, the category as a whole declined too.”

Apple innovation

“Apple is by far the biggest section of the category but sales, in general, have been declining, and something that has come through quite clearly at the PMA’s Cider Trends Summit is that there needs to be a lot more innovation around the apple. Consumers seem to be getting a bit of flavour fatigue, and if you look at the innovation during the past three years, most of it has been around flavours — berry, cherry and so on.

“It’s only recently that some of the brands have started driving some of the more traditional cider elements such as cloudiness and scrumpy-style ciders that were lost for a while.

“I think that talking about the combinations of apples, like beer does with hops, and discussing the cider production process is really important. The apple cider brands have to talk about their juice content. A few talk about having 100% pressed apples but it’s not enough to have it on the back of the packaging, that should be front and centre, it’s a huge selling point. Consumers don’t understand about cider concentrate that most brands use, and those which use fresh juice should scream about it because, if you’re using fresh fruit juice, that’s a big advantage and a huge selling point, which can be passed on to the customer.

Bottled is for all

Kathryn Purchase, director of customer marketing at Carlsberg UK, whose portfolio includes Somersby cider, says bottled cider cuts across customer demographics to deliver sales in pubs and bars.

“Bottled cider remains an area of growth for the on-trade as consumers continue to enjoy cider’s refreshing and often fruity flavour profile year round. Perfect for summer occasions, we have also noted that bottled cider continues to thrive into the Christmas season, with 18 to 24-year-olds driving this as their engagement with the on-trade grows. Light in taste and ABV, bottled cider is popular across demographic groups, and is generally consumed by a 50:50 split of men and women. As such, a popular category, brimming with choice, there is a style or flavour to suit most palates.”

Personality

“A consumer trend we have witnessed is the search for a sense of personality. People are increasingly looking for relationships with brands — purchasing products they can relate to, or they feel reflects a part of them, in terms of bold flavours and character. Somersby Cider communicates the messages of quality, refreshment and fun through its presence at summer music festivals or the current interactive on-trade PoS campaign.

“Consumer confidence is also at an all-time high, and patrons are no longer afraid to ask questions. To ensure publicans are capitalising on the bottled cider opportunity they should display their range on the top shelf of fridges, typically the area most visible to customers — encouraging trade-up and inspiration to choose a flavour of cider they may not have tried before.”

Pulling for premium

Geoff Bradman, Westons head of sales says premiumisation is the key to continuing growth in cider.​​

“The cider market in the on-trade is still very healthy and in growth. The market trend (which also spans much wider than the cider market) is very much towards premiumisation and will continue on that trajectory.

“Within premiumisation of the cider market, we can break this down into three segments: firstly, the natural premiumisation of the draught market; secondly, traditional cider products that have real heritage and are generally still bag-in-box products; and thirdly, craft ciders of which there has been much media attention this year as they capture the imagination of consumers and the trade alike.

“There have been some interesting new developments recently. For example, Strongbow Cloudy: a great liquid with a well-supported launch in terms of the marketing behind it. It is not an on-trade exclusive, so it will be very interesting to see where it gains most traction.”

Trends

“Fruit ciders will also continue to fare well as long as they are in the right type of outlets. The combination of premiumisation and fruit is an interesting one. In particular, our Old Rosie Cloudy Cider with Rhubarb sold well above our expectations. The range will therefore be repeated next year because it worked well. The limited-edition range will be available until the end of the month and then our Henry Westons Mulled Cider will be relaunched for the winter period.

“The trend for packaged cider will continue, largely due to the fruit cider market usage — in terms of the product serve and occasion. Many of these products work well over ice, which is difficult to do with a draught product since there isn’t room for all of the ice. There’s also a degree of theatre when serving these sorts of product, which works much better with a packaged cider.”

“We are continuing to work hard on our ‘Right brand, right outlet, right geography’ strategy, which helps us as company but also massively helps our trade partners in terms of what to stock. We always provide heavyweight and continued support for our customers to make sure, for example, that they are offering a point of difference in terms of what’s in the fridge and what’s on the bar."

Call for quality

John Hadingham, head of on-trade sales at Aspall, says the cider category needs to move away from a price war and be more about quality.

“We have some concerns for the cider industry. Total UK apple cider volumes are in decline for the first time in 13 years. Mainstream cider pricing continues to decrease as a price war bubbles away between the big brewers to gain volume and often positioned against beer gains with no regard to or interest for the cider category.

"It would be good to see the industry stop deep discounting and trading cider brands on price alone, put some value back into the quality of the offer and engage with consumers at a taste level to keep them engaged.”

Experience

“Consumers are increasingly motivated by premium drinks — seeking new experiences and better-quality ciders with genuine provenance. With more than 50% of all on-trade cider sales now being premium, consumers are increasingly looking beyond the mainstream ciders that dominate most draught ranges. However, penetration of premium packaged ranges remains low so this remains a great opportunity for more growth within the category.

“Consider the draught range, can you offer a premium or fruit cider on draught? A good packaged cider range can cover all consumer needs but with space often limited, managing merchandising carefully is essential to be able to offer the premium trade-up alongside mainstream and fruit ciders. Avoid simply filling the fridge with whatever is in the cellar. Try merchandising a wider range with consideration to premium products.”