Craft beer accounted for 10 of the top 100 biggest on-trade drinks brands in the 2018 Drinks List – and the category has moved up to the next level in the latest report.
According to 80% of consumers surveyed in The Craft Revolution in Brewing report published by global science company Royal DSM, craft beer is here to stay.
The report, which surveyed 3,300 consumers in seven countries in Europe and the US, revealed that roughly two thirds of consumers said they were attracted to craft beer because it is a premium, high-quality product.
Moreover, in a year that saw the England football team match its best performance at a foreign World Cup, craft beer was recognised as the drink of choice for more than one in 10 sports fans (13%) – overtaking traditional sporting brew Guinness, which is only drunk by 9% according to CGA.
A year in craft beer
In addition to acquiring Draft House in 2018, Scottish brewer and operator BrewDog announced growth across all areas of its domestic and international business, with total revenue reaching 78m – a year-on-year increase of 55%.
Additionally, north London brewery Beavertown agreed to sell a stake in its business to brewing giant Heineken, accepting an offer to invest an undisclosed figure in the craft brewer to help it build a state-of-the-art £40m brewery and visitor experience, set to open in autumn 2019.
Moreover, Beavertown agreed a partnership with Tottenham Hotspur to open a microbrewery in the club’s new stadium.
Best sellers
According to The Morning Advertiser's 2019 Drinks List, the best-selling craft beers in the on-trade in 2018 were:
The list was compiled by CGA Strategy based on consumer preference, equity scores and sales metrics, and includes brands from the spirits, wine, softs and LAD (low-alcohol drinks) categories.
Consumer opinion forms the basis of the methodology, highlighting the brands that consumers want to see when they visit the on-trade.
As such, a 66:33 weighted split was used to determine the list, balancing consumer preferences with actual on-trade sales performance to give the most accurate and comprehensive list of the 100 ultimate drinks brands in the GB on-trade.
By measuring brands against a number of equity features, we have also uncovered consumers’ perception of brands and the reasons why they make up the nation’s favourite drinks – are they cool, fun, value for money? etc.
- All data provided by CGA, which looks at the 12 months to 11 August 2018
