Join the £16M lighter-tasting lager opportunity with Heineken® Silver

A combination of wider consumer interest in the light lager category, alongside a demand for premium, is providing outlets with the opportunity to bolster both value and volume sales. Heineken Silver®, the recently launched premium light lager, taps not only into the increasing appetite for lighter tasting lagers, but also speaks to the consumer need for brands that are more premium; a vital trend for operators to capitalise on to grow revenue.

The premium, craft and continental lager categories have grown value and volume sales in recent years as consumers look to brands that will deliver on taste and experience. However, there remains an opportunity within the growing light lager category to premiumise¹ and boost value sales. Light lagers are typically under-priced on the bar, driven by the category’s former lack of a premium offering. For example, 19,000 premium outlets offer a light lager but typically stockists price these brands at just 5p more than their cheapest pint². By switching from a classic light lager to Heineken Silver®, individual pubs can look to earn an additional £6,100 per year on average³.

Heineken Silver® is recognised in the top five beers, wines and spirits launches of the decade⁴ and secured over 3,500 draught distribution points within its first year⁵, as pub operators understood the value of the brand on their bars. Such is the value of Heineken® Silver® that it drove 85% of light lager growth last year.⁶

But this emerging segment doesn’t just present an opportunity to grow sales from existing on-trade consumers. It also has the power to attract a new group of adult drinkers. Half of Gen Y and Z consumers (18-34-year-olds) drink beer in a pub or bar, of which 25% claim that they had planned to drink more beer in pubs last year than they did⁷, as outlined in the Heineken® Beer Report 2022. So, brands that connect with these generations will help attract them into outlet. The Beer Report also shows that younger drinkers are seeking out lighter-tasting, sessionable options and within the first year of launch, Heineken Silver® is more successfully recruiting this younger generation of drinkers vs other new lager launches⁸.

As such, there is a £16M opportunity within premium light lager as a younger generation of drinker seeks a beverage that fits these changing needs, specifically around lighter and more accessible flavours. The Generation Y and Z consumer may be less engaged with beer versus previous generations, but Heineken Silver® is recruiting them back into the category with a product that meets their needs.

Pubs ready to attract a new customer base and to boost lager sales should sign up to the Heineken Silver® free pint giveaway. Find out more here 

^{[1] CGA RSP Dec 22 & CGA OPMS November 2022}

^{[2] CGA RSP Dec 22 & CGA OPMS November 2022}

^{[3] RSP Draught Light Lager & Draught Heineken Silver. Vol RoS of Draught Light Lager. 01.23}

^{[4] CGA OPMS Data from 19.05.2007, value sales}

^{[5] Innserve Data. Dec 23.}

^{[6] CGA Value Growth 12.01.23}

^{[7] KAM Media Beer Drinking Habits January 2022}

^{[8] Kantar, Alcovision, Sept 22}

^{[9] CGA OPMS Data from 19.05.2007, value sales}

^{[10] RSP Draught Light Lager & Draught Heineken Silver. Vol RoS of Draught Light Lager. 01.23}

^{[11] CGA Value Growth 12.01.23}

^{[12] Kantar Purchase Panel | 52 w/e 19 February 2023 | Total Beer}

^{[13] Kantar Purchase Panel. 52 w/e 25 Dec 2022. Total Beer}