Cider set for biggest ever Christmas in off-trade

Westons’ latest category update reveals that the total off-trade cider category is now worth £1.3bn and currently accounts for 76% of total cider volume.

In grocery, bigger formats have performed strongly, up 10% on last year, with 10 packs experiencing a 34% increase in growth.

Emily Jenkins, category manager at Westons Cider. “There have been some clear changes to shopper behaviour as consumers adapt and, as part of this, convenience stores have become even more integral to British society.

“For the cider category specifically, convenience spend was up 33% and online up 101% and, in all cases, new shoppers were the main driver. That said, convenience still only accounts for 17.7% of total cider spend compared to supermarkets which account for 56.7% of cider sales. Retailers should take note of these changing consumer habits and ensure they are stocking larger formats alongside bestsellers, such as Henry Westons, to capitalise on the cider opportunity in the lead up to Christmas.

“What’s more, shoppers will increasingly expect to see no and low alternatives readily available in grocery and convenience channels as we see greater numbers looking for premium alternatives within the category.”

Weston’s prediction comes as the government announced more stringent national lockdown measures, which research suggests will encourage shoppers to increase supermarket spending on a par with the levels we saw in May (+57%).

Jenkins said: “This Christmas is shaping up to be like none we’ve seen before. What we do know is that cider sales boomed during the first lockdown, with 841,470 more shoppers buying cider at home, so we can be pretty confident that cider will remain a mainstay on shopping lists as we enter the festive period.”