Lockdown drives off-trade cider boom, says Westons

The national lockdown produced a huge swing in cider consumption from the on-trade to the off-trade during 2020, resulting in the biggest year on record for the off-trade cider category, according to the latest edition of Westons Cider’s annual Cider Report.

The report shows record growth for cider in grocery retail – up 21.2% year-on-year – taking overall value to £1.3bn through the channel. The study also reveals that almost half of UK households (47.7%) now buy in to the category, which attracted almost a million more shoppers in 2020.

The full or partial closure of hospitality outlets during the lockdown periods in 2020 skewed the sales returns from the channels significantly, with the off-trade accounting for 63% of cider value and 83% of the volume during 2020, compared to 35% and 62% respectively in the previous year, while the on-trade suffered a corresponding reverse. With volumes and price per litre generally significantly higher in the on-trade, the total cider market was down 12.2% in volume and 32.1% in value YOY – the equivalent of £2.1bn.

Tim Williams, Insight and Innovation Manager at Westons Cider, commented: “The past year has been undeniably challenging for retailers and suppliers alike. The initial surge in demand in the off-trade meant that production of priority, bestselling SKUs had to be ramped up significantly. However, the outlook for the cider category is no doubt a positive one, as it has yet again shown itself to be buoyant and in high demand.”

Online and convenience cider sales predictably boomed, up 81.4% and 19.0% respectively, in both cases ahead of the 17.9% growth seen in the total grocery market. In convenience, the crafted cider subcategory reached triple digit growth, with independents seeing volume growth of 153.4% YOY.

Crafted cider turned out to be the fastest-growing segment last year – up 48.7% in the off-trade as a whole – as consumers turned to more premium, higher-value offerings to mimic the out-of-home drinking experience, explained Williams.

“In fact, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest cider drinking occasion last year was a quiet night in – up from 19% of serves a year ago to 21.6% of serves in 2020 – and, with this, came just short of a million new shoppers into the category,” he said.

In flavours, apple cider continues to dominate, accounting for 60% of total off-trade sales, with fruit cider accounting for 35%. Sales were up 22.3% and 22.9% respectively during the year, but even greater increases were enjoyed by cloudy and rosé ciders, with respective growth rates of 104.1% and 481.3%.

Low & No Alcohol cider volume also grew significantly, up by 32.6% in the off-trade. These products attract a more affluent shopper, explained Westons, pointing out that 3.2% of cider buyers purchase only no/low alcohol products.

Larger pack formats are on the rise, with 10-pack value increasing by 40% YOY and packs even larger than this saw a 31.6% increase. Canned lines continue to prove popular among shoppers, now accounting for 59% of all sales – up 31.7% from the previous year. Glass is also maintaining its popularity, accounting for 29% of sales, whilst plastic bottles (10%) continue to decline.

Despite the gradual reopening of the hospitality sector, research suggests the future is still looking bright for the UK off-trade, according to Darryl Hinksman, Head of Business Development at Westons Cider.

“A summer of sport and the possibility of meeting with wider circles of friends and family will undoubtedly drive both out-of-home and in-home drinking occasions,” he said.

“Over the past year, UK grocery retail has played a crucial role in maintaining presence and momentum for the cider category. The sheer popularity of crafted ciders, the emergence of diverse offerings within the cloudy and rosé subcategories and the growth of the online and convenience channels have played a key part in this, and we expect these factors to remain important throughout the year ahead.”