Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Products covered in this Report
Executive Summary
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- The market
- 2018 heatwave boosts cider
- Inflation and weak volume sales projected for 2018-23
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- Figure 1: Total value sales of cider, 2013-23
- On-trade leads on value sales, but off-trade dominates volumes
- Freeze on alcohol duties offers relief to manufacturers, but higher duties imposed on high-strength variants
- Health organisations warn of the dangers of alcohol
- Companies and brands
- Strongbow grows sales in buoyant cider market
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- Figure 2: Leading brands’ shares in the UK retail cider market, 2017/18*
- Further activity in flavoured ciders
- Rosé cider blurs the boundaries with wine
- Advertising spend falls in 2017
- Strongbow continues music links and targets Freshers’ Week
- The consumer
- Over half of adults drink cider
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- Figure 3: Usage of cider, by flavour, October 2018
- Moderating alcohol intake is the primary reason for not drinking cider
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- Figure 4: Barriers to usage of cider, October 2018
- Barrel-aged and spiced ciders attract interest
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- Figure 5: Interest in innovation in cider and cider-based drinks, October 2018
- Seven in 10 drinkers would opt for a soft drink over a low-alcohol cider
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- Figure 6: Behaviours relating to cider, October 2018
- Many drinkers are open towards trading up
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- Figure 7: Attitudes towards cider, October 2018
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Barrel-aged ciders can help companies to engage older consumers
- The facts
- The implications
- Multiple avenues to explore to boost usage of craft ciders
- The facts
- The implications
- A stronger focus on ingredient varieties would boost perry
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- 2018 heatwave boosts cider
- Inflation and weak volume sales projected for 2018-23
- On-trade leads on value sales, but off-trade dominates volumes
- Freeze on alcohol duties offers relief to manufacturers, but higher duties imposed on high-strength variants
- Health organisations warn of the dangers of alcohol
Market Size and Forecast
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- Hot summer of 2018 boosts cider
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- Figure 8: Total value and volume sales of cider, 2013-23
- Figure 9: Total value sales of cider, 2013-23
- Stronger inflation for some cider types than others projected for 2018-23
- Ageing population and alcohol moderation trend to limit sales growth
- Forecast methodology
Channels to Market
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- Higher prices in the on-trade allow it to lead on values but not volumes
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- Figure 10: Value and volume sales of cider in the off and on-trade, 2013-18
- Heineken looks to boost cider’s position in the on-trade with new specialist website
- A wider selection of brands would help to boost cider sales in the on-trade
- Cider volume sales grow in both channels in 2018
Market Drivers
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- Multiple factors affect cider prices
- Freeze on alcohol duties offers relief to manufacturers but extra duties loom for higher-strength ciders
- Change to duty dilution laws set to raise costs for flavoured cider producers
- Minimum unit pricing for alcohol comes into effect in Scotland
- Various uncertainties remain around UK policies post-Brexit
- Improved disposable household incomes offers opportunities for premium products
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- Figure 11: CPI vs average weekly earnings, 2012-18
- A third of buyers have cut back on alcohol for health reasons
- Health organisations warn of the dangers of alcohol
- RSPH advocates cigarette packet-type warning labels on alcoholic drinks
- No safe level of alcohol consumption, declares health research institute
- Ageing UK population offers little support to cider
- Hot summer of 2018 boosts cider sales
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- Figure 12: Sunshine hours in the UK, by month, 2013-18
- Competition heats up within the category
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Strongbow grows sales in buoyant cider market
- Further activity in flavoured ciders
- Rosé cider blurs the boundaries with wine
- Advertising spend falls in 2017
- Strongbow continues music links and targets Freshers’ Week
Market Share
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- Strongbow grows sales in buoyant cider market
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- Figure 13: Leading brands’ sales and share in the UK retail cider market, 2015/16-2017/18
- Figure 14: Leading brand owners’ sales and share in the UK retail cider market, 2015/16-2017/18
- Kopparberg gains at the expense of Rekorderlig
- Thatchers speeds ahead
- Lambrini extends its lead in perry
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- Figure 15: Leading brands’ sales and share in the UK retail perry market, 2015/16-2017/18
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- Figure 16: Leading brand owners’ sales and share in the UK retail perry market, 2015/16-2017/18
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Further activity in flavoured ciders
- Rekorderlig unveils ciders with herbal flavours
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- Figure 17: Examples of flavoured ciders, 2018
- Retailers add to their flavoured cider ranges
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- Figure 18: Examples of own-label flavoured ciders, 2018
- High-profile brands release low/no-alcohol variants
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- Figure 19: Old Mout’s non-alcoholic variant, 2018
- Westons looks to boost its craft credentials with 180 day-aged cider
- Thatchers Rosé blurs boundaries between cider and wine
- Premium brands look to compete with wine
- The marriage of beer and cider
- French brands promote juice content and absence of added sugar
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- Figure 20: Example of cider with on-pack emphasis on 100% juice and no added sugar, 2018
- Group of smaller producers introduces quality mark
Advertising and Marketing Activity
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- Advertising spend falls in 2017
- Heineken remains the leading advertiser
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- Figure 21: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on cider and perry, 2014-18 (sorted by 2017)
- Heineken continues to concentrate on Strongbow
- Strongbow continues its links with music festivals…
- …and gives out free ice creams based on its Dark Fruit variants
- Freshers’ Week campaign targets young adults
- Old Mout continues with its campaign to save the kiwi bird
- Bulmers celebrates British diversity
- Thatchers emphasises its family-run credentials
- Social media campaign urges people to wear pink to associate with Rosé variant
- Stowford Press emphasises local sourcing
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Over half of adults drink cider
- Moderating alcohol intake is the primary reason for not drinking cider
- Barrel-aged and spiced ciders attract interest
- Seven in 10 drinkers would opt for a soft drink over a low-alcohol cider
- Many drinkers are open towards trading up
Usage of Cider
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- Over half of adults drink cider
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- Figure 22: Usage of cider, by flavour, October 2018
- More men than women drink cider
- Ageing population offers little support to cider
- Barrel-aged ciders have particular appeal to older people
- A quarter drink cider made by beer brewers
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- Figure 23: Usage of different types of cider, October 2018
- One in five drink craft cider
- Limited availability underpins low usage of low-/non-alcoholic cider
- Four in 10 users drink only one or two types of cider
- Subscription services can help to enlarge people’s repertoires
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- Figure 24: Repertoire of cider types drunk, October 2018
- Six in 10 users drink cider twice a month or less
- Under-35s are not more frequent cider drinkers than older people
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- Figure 25: Usage frequency for cider, October 2018
Barriers to Cider
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- Moderating alcohol intake is the primary reason for eschewing cider
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- Figure 26: Barriers to cider, October 2018
- Cider spritzers appeal particularly to those limiting alcohol intake
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- Figure 27: International example of cider spritzer, 2018
- Health concerns put off 15% of non-/infrequent users
- Herbal and spice flavours are means to appeal to people put off cider by sweet taste
Interest in Innovation in Cider and Cider-Based Drinks
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- Barrel-aged ciders appeal particularly to over-55s
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- Figure 28: International example of barrel-aged cider, 2017
- Figure 29: Interest in innovation in cider and cider-based drinks, October 2018
- Spice and herbal flavours spark interest
- Seasonal spices could help to encourage usage in autumn/winter
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- Figure 30: International examples of ciders with herbal/spice flavours, 2017-18
- Dessert flavours appeal particularly to under-35s
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- Figure 31: Examples of ciders with dessert-inspired flavours, 2018
- Rosé cider appeals especially to women
- Examples from the US offer potential cues for UK companies
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- Figure 32: US examples of rosé ciders, 2018
Behaviours Relating to Cider
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- Low-alcohol cider is impeded by many people’s inclination to opt for soft drinks instead
- Need for makers of low-alcohol ciders to promote similarities with ‘real’ ciders
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- Figure 33: Behaviours relating to cider, October 2018
- Meal pairing suggestions appeal to many
- Various methods to promote cider as meal accompaniment
- Greater focus on pear varieties needed for perry
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- Figure 34: International examples of perries with pear varieties identified on-pack
Attitudes towards Cider
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- Many drinkers are amenable towards trading up
- Consumer openness to trading up helps to heat up competition in the category
- Barrel-aged ciders spark interest among people willing to trade up
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- Figure 35: Attitudes towards cider, October 2018
- Multiple opportunities to boost craft cider usage
- Local sourcing is strongly associated with craft
- Craft ciders are widely seen as having better quality ingredients than standard ones
- Over a third of users/buyers see ciders produced on a small scale as better quality
- Consumer concerns about ciders with high alcohol content hinder craft products
- Cider subscription services appeal strongly to under-35s
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Forecast methodology
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- Figure 36: Total volume sales of cider, 2013-23
- Figure 37: Forecast of UK sales of cider, by value, best- and worst-case, 2018-23
- Figure 38: Forecast of UK sales of cider, by volume, best- and worst-case, 2018-23
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