More than 250m litres of cider sold in pubs in 2023

Sales were up by 0.5% against the previous year, according to the report, with the most cider sold in the South West (20%), followed by central regions and London.

The on-trade’s overall volume share stood at 76.4% in terms of draught serves, up 0.5% year-on-year, and 23.6% for packaged formats, up 0.6% against 2022.

Value wise, the sector’s draught share grew by 4.9%, to 71.4%, and by 4% for packaged, to 28.6%.

Moreover, the on-trade accounts for 62% of value and 37% of volume for the cider category.

The report also showed the average outlet sold 27.7 hectolitres of cider across the 12-month period, up 4.2% year-on-year, with Heineken, Molson Coors, Thatchers, Koppaberg and Weston’s named as the top 5 cider manufacturers.

Mainstream to premium 

However, the number of cider venues had dropped by 4.2% during this period to 92,095.

In addition, the average price of a pint of cider in the on-trade was £4.31, which was an upturn of 17p compared with the previous year.

Cider tap numbers continue to be “squeezed” by a combination of factors including the cost of living, the growth of premium world beers on tap and the “dominance” of major brewer composite deals.

To ensure efficiency and effectiveness in driving footfall for the category, outlets should “carefully consider” the role of premium apple cider, brands, flavoured cider and the style of their own outlet and consumer, the report advised.

According to the figures, 65.1% of draught apple category volume in more premium brands, an increase of 8.3 percentage points against the 2023 Westons Cider Report, while draught flavoured volume in more premium brands was up 6.6 percentage points to 56.8%.

The report said: “The move from mainstream into more premium brands continues into 2024 as we see genuine premiumisation, not the effects of inflation.”

While apple cider dominated the total share of on-trade sales at 61.9%, up 0.8%, flavoured cider saw 0.3% growth to capture 37.6% of on the on-trade market.

Value and experience 

Additionally, the report showed draught flavoured Cider, despite a long period of decline, has recently stabilised to represent 25% of the total draught category.

Pear cider, however, saw a 12.1% drop in its share of the market, accounting for just 0.5%.

Looking at dayparts, the most common time of day to drink cider in the on-trade was weekend evenings, with 30% of purchases taking place on a Saturday, though this figure is down slightly against the previous year.

Sunday’s have also grown in popularity for cider drinkers, gaining a 1.5 percentage point share of the market in hospitality settings.

While social get togethers were cited as the most popular drinking occasion for the category, food was also key to the cider drinking experience, with 48.3% of on-trade serves being with food.

Client director for CGA Chris Sterling said in the report: “There is no doubt one of the key trends for 2023 was the consumer’s continued move towards experiential venues and we continue to see expansion in this channel.

“As consumers become ever savvier, value and experience are key in decision making. However, value doesn’t mean cheap; suppliers and operators can capitalise on premium products by increasing their value perception through enhanced experiences.”