FEATURE: Boom period expected for cider

Prolonged periods of hot weather would provide an additional bonus boost for a category that is already in value growth.

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In-cider tips with Thatchers Gold

It’s clear to see that cider drinkers know what they like, and often with less choice than lager options, its important you stock the brand they want to drink.

Thatchers​ Gold is the No.1 choice in the free trade for draught apple cider drinkers¹​ – where publicans and consumers have freedom of choice. That’s what makes it the cider to stock; with consistent, premium quality helping maximise rate of sale and optimising volume and value.

Thatchers Gold is known as ‘the classic’ for a reason. It’s a ‘cider drinker’s cider’ with its medium dry flavour, golden colour and a smooth, refreshing taste.

It’s not just about apple ciders though. Premium fruit ciders are thriving and will make an attractive addition to bar menus as the warmer weather arrives and pub gardens open up.

Thatchers acclaimed fruit flavours, available with the innovative Fusion Font or packaged in the fridge, are attracting a cross section of drinkers, particularly appealing to Gen Z and Millennials²​.

With the three-in-one Fusion font - offering Blood Orange, Cloudy Lemon and Apple and Blackcurrant infused ciders, you can increase consumer choice and offer improved visibility on the bar versus the fridge. Importantly the Fusion Font adds excitement – not only through increased flavour options, but also by introducing quality theatre to the bar.

Having the right range of premium ciders at the right price on your bar will help you see your seasonal cider sales grow and will be sure to delight your customers.

Click here to Thatchers and find out more​.

1) CGA OPMS P12 MAT 2.12.23

2) CGA Brandtrack Oct 23

CGA figures for the year to 2 December 2023, show on-trade cider sales growth of 4.7% versus the previous year, reaching a touch under £2bn.

Draught accounts for 76.4% of those sales and apple cider is, in turn, a quarter of those on-tap sales.

“Draught apple cider delivers more volume and cash in the till than any other segment,” says James Palmer, head of on-trade at Thatchers, which claims its Gold and Haze variants in the top 10 brands.

“While consumers are reducing their visits out, the majority are protecting their quality standards and looking for premium options, especially in cider.

“Premium mainstream draught brands are growing ahead of any other segment in apple cider and offer a higher rate of sale for operators, delivering 44% of all draught apple sales.”

Westons has had a major push behind the draught version of its craft Henry Westons Vintage brand in the past year. It says the product has the highest average price per pint of any draught brand on the market at £5.24.

“We’ve secured some really important new national listings and have just under 1,500 distribution points now,” says Holly Chadwick, brand manager for Henry Westons and sister brand Stowford Press. “We’ve added Loungers and Cosy Club, and premium M&B fascias such as Nicholson’s.”

Tim Williams, Westons’s insight and innovation manager, adds: “It’s important to know your market and have the right draught apple cider on the bar to command the best return for the outlet. If there’s the possibility of a second tap, [an operator could add] a regional skew on apple or a fruit cider.

“But after a few years where dark fruit was getting a lot of focus at the front of the bar, it’s lost share and apple is in growth.

“So it has become more about having the right apple share on the front of the bar and about the fridge being where you can offer the consumer variety in fruit.”

Molson Coors also seized on the premium apple opportunity with last year’s launch of Sharp’s Cold River.

“Mainstream outlets that are looking to offer a great pint at an affordable price should consider a premium apple cider to meet the needs of most drinkers, most of the time,” says on-trade category controller Stephen Groucott.

Palmer at Thatchers points out that mainstream draught apple cider has fallen as premium equivalents have grown.

But Strongbow and Inch’s supplier Heineken UK notes in its latest Cider Report​ that “classic and mainstream” brands still account for 61.4% market share (CGA, June 2023).

It is important to get your range in good shape ahead of summer – the summer season can start as soon as Easter if the weather is in our favour.

Fruit cider is the most reactive BWS (beer, wines and spirits) category with sales growing faster than other sub-categories when the sunshine is out at events/bank holidays. Review your range and ensure you have the strongest products, and good availability to make the most of increased footfall.

Fruit is thriving​

Growth in apple cider has seen the rapid onward march of fruit cider stall in recent times, but Thatchers says premium fruit ciders – in which it recently added Apple & Blackcurrant alongside its Blood Orange and Cloudy Lemon brands – are doing better. It now has a three-in-one draught font offering all three.

“Premium fruit ciders are thriving as drinkers move away from the post-lockdown cocktail boom and look for flavour variations as a more affordable option,” says Palmer.

Will Rice, on-trade sales director at Heineken UK, says the fortunes of apple and fruit ciders are linked.

“Over half of weekly cider drinkers consume both apple and flavoured cider (according to KAM research for Heineken in May 2023),” says Rice. “Pubs that stock both an apple and flavoured cider on draught see a better rate of sale compared to stocking two draught apple cider brands.

“This mix, combined with a good range of packaged flavoured cider variants in the fridge, is the best way to drive cider sales, with two thirds of consumers saying that having more flavour options makes them more likely to choose cider.”

Heineken’s Strongbow Dark Fruit remains the fruit cider market leader, while its Old Mout range offers a more upmarket take. It added a draught Pineapple & Raspberry version of Old Mout to its armoury last year.

Molson Coors has also been active in the premium fruit cider segment with the 2023 launch of Aspall Blush. It has also added Pink Lemon and Blood Orange to its Rekorderlig range.

“Constantly refreshing ranges and offering an array of different flavours and tastes is essential to helping operators attract new consumers to the category, and we have more exciting innovations in the pipeline for summer 2024,” says Groucott.

Kopparberg’s success in the UK has been built on a backbone of numerous fruit cider variations, the latest of which was the seasonal edition Summer Punch, which will reappear for 2024.

Category manager Lucy Farrell says fruit is doing its best work in packaged formats but adds: “Draught fruit is gaining popularity.

“There are more fruit drinkers [than apple cider consumers] but they are much ‘lighter’ with lower frequency and volume. These customers are demanding: 77% will ask for their favourite brand and will reappraise their venue choice based on availability.”

Ben Turner, cider brand director at Magners and Orchard Pig supplier C&C Group, advises backing “the proven winners”. He adds: “Ensure the taps are driving good value for the consumer, you have a premium upsell in the fridge to maximise space, and cater for the key refreshment occasion, such as cider over ice.”

Kingfisher Drinks positions its Peacock cider brand – which comes in Apple and Mango Lime variants – as an ideal match for Asian food.

Head of marketing John Price says: “Current trends impacting the cider category are encouraging for Peacock, as in recent years the flavoured cider category has seen consumers increasingly shift towards packaged products over draught, and the sales of each in the on-trade are now fairly evenly matched.

“In addition, food pairing is still very important to cider drinking occasions too, with nearly half of all on-trade cider serves being with food.”

Turn away from supermarket brands​

There’s plenty of variety among the lower-hanging fruit in the cider market to meet the needs of venues for which big brands don’t necessarily cut the mustard.

Barny Butterfield, chief cider maker at Sandford Orchards, thinks pubs can stand out by turning their backs on any brands that are sold in the supermarkets.

“Ubiquitous brands available in 24-packs alongside nappies and cat food are not what the top operators or their customers are looking for,” he says.

“Sandford Orchards has seen strong continued double-digit growth. The trade tells us that stocking the highest quality is making them the greatest profit.”

Sandford Orchards’ innovations include Devon Rosé, made with sweet cider apples and Pinot Noir grapes, and it is adding a rhubarb cider in 20-litre bag-in-box for summer 2024.

“Low-quality cider, especially on draught, drives customers who would rather be drinking a great cider into other categories or out of your pub,” he says, and adds listing good cider can have a knock-on positive impact on beer sales as well, because of the signals it sends to drinkers about the overall package.

Sandford Orchards isn’t the only smaller producer to take inspiration from wine in moulding its product range.

Herefordshire-based Little Pomona’s creations include a cider aged in Burgundy casks and Disco Nouveau, a cider made from the first Discovery apples from the annual cider crop, inspired by Beaujolais Nouveau.

It’s taking the product on a roadshow tour of top UK cider pubs. “We’ve released it in winter and early spring to illustrate that cider can be an all-year round drink,” says co-owner Susanna Forbes. “You don’t stop drinking lager because it’s January or February. It’s all about perception: why we limiting ourselves?

“If you like Henry Westons, this is the next step up. It goes really well with simple pub food. The Yew Tree [at Peterstow in Herefordshire] has done a special pizza to go with it called Disgoat Nouveau because it has goats’ cheese on it.

“Any pub could do something like that to add a little bit of theatre and fun. It could be as simple as some cubes of cheese. When you give people some cheese and a sip of full juice cider, you see that ‘lightbulb moment’ on their faces.”

Forbes advises pubs to contact the Three Counties Cider Perry Association – which represents craft cider producers across the UK, not just its core areas of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire – to establish links with speciality cider firms, or to go direct.

“Cider makers like to chat,” she says, “and good ones are popping up all over the country. There are wonderful ones such as Blue Barrel in Cambridgeshire and some cracking producers in Scotland, including Naughton. They are all around; you just have to look a bit because we’re all a bit small.”

Forbes also recommends investing in staff training through providers such as Gabe Cook, aka the Ciderologist. Cook has just linked up with the American Cider Association to extend its Certified Cider Professional qualification to a global audience.

“Now is the time for a unified education program that is applicable and open to anyone and everyone from Seattle to Somerset to Sydney,” says Cook. “It is a true reflection of the globalisation of cider and indicative of this being an incredibly exciting time for cider.”

Those who aren’t ready to commit to a formal educational approach, could dip a more informal toe into a trade cider school being hosted by Ross on Wye Cider & Perry on 10 June, in conjunction with fellow producers Oliver’s and Little Pomona, and The Ciderologist.

It will cover cider varieties, a lunch with some simple cider and food pairings, and sessions on draught cider and perry and on sharing bottles.

The Old Shoe in Sheffield is among those listing Little Pomona’s Disco Nouveau, and owner Mike Pomranz says he likes the opportunity for him and his customers to enter uncharted waters.

“Part of Little Pomona’s push to raise cider’s profile has been its willingness to crossover, to reach out to wine drinkers, beer drinkers, high-brow cider drinkers but also casual cider drinkers.

“There seems to be a temptation at the moment for bar owners to revert to safer, more-established brands but we’ve had success with the opposite.

“When you give people quality stuff at a fair price, they’re more engaged and excited to come back to try more.”

Manchester craft brewer Pomona Island is to run a tap takeover of its half-namesake cider producer’s products at its new North Westward Ho craft beer bar, one of two in the city where it features top-of-the-range ciders in its offering.

Co-founder Nick Greenhalgh says: “The creativity in the cider world sometimes goes under the radar with all the noise about craft beer or natural wine, but they’re making unbelievable drinks which are properly diverse, exciting and really push boundaries.”