What you need to know
The cider market was worth £3.4 billion in 2019, a 4% drop against the previous year. Cider sales continue to be dependent on the weather and 2018 proved to be an unusually warm year which, coupled with the football World Cup over the summer, benefited the cider market significantly. 2019 saw a return towards more ‘normal’ selling conditions and sales fell accordingly, with inflation continuing to prop up values.
Cider remains a popular drink with British adults, but there are warning signs for the market as one of its most lucrative segments – fruit ciders – is hitting rocky waters. After a decade of growth, brands such as Kopparberg and Rekorderlig are seeing sales slow down and even decline. Nevertheless, growing interest in lower- and non-alcoholic drinks, craft ciders and premiumisation offers continuing opportunities for brands to perform well in the immediate future.
Products covered in this Report
All ciders are included within this Report: low/no-alcohol to super-strength; draught and packaged cider; unflavoured and flavoured ciders; still and sparkling ciders. Both on- and off-trade sales are included in the UK market size.
The NACM Code of Practice states that the alcohol content of cider must be greater than 1.2% ABV but less than 8.5% ABV; products in excess of 8.5% ABV are classified as apple wine. This definition of cider is used for this Report.
Perry and pear cider are both included in this Report. Whilst it is recognised that perry refers to a drink made using fermented pear juice, this term is used to describe light perries that are sold as wine-style drinks (eg Lambrini). Perries that are sold alongside ciders are referred to, for the purposes of this Report, as pear cider.
Flavoured cider refers to drinks marketed as ciders that contain flavourings or fruit other than pear or apple. Examples include Kopparberg Mixed Fruit and Brothers Strawberry and Mixed Pear Cider, among others.
Apple-flavoured alcoholic carbonates are excluded from market size calculations in this Report. Duty-free sales and personal imports are also excluded from market size calculations.
