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Premium Lagers, Beers & Ciders Market Report Plus 2007
Key Note Publications Ltd, Aug 2007, Pages: 109
The total UK market for premium lagers, beers and ciders is estimated to be worth £14.18bn in 2007. The basic definition of premium products among these drinks is based on alcoholic strength. However, the quality of the drink and other more nebulous marketing factors — the positioning or `personality' of a brand, for example — can also distinguish the product as a premium drink.
The market is split into three sectors: premium lagers; premium beers; and premium ciders. In 2007, premium lagers represent 74.1% of the market; while premium beers made up 23.6% and premium ciders 2.3%.
The trend towards premium brands was based on two factors that are peculiar to the UK drinks market. First, there was the move away from session drinking of relatively weak beer, towards the accepted international model of drinking fewer, but stronger, beers (usually cold lager, rather than lukewarm dark beer). Second, the lager sector — which is now much larger than the domestic sector for dark beers — has shifted towards the international standard of 5% alcohol by volume (ABV) strength, which is considered a premium strength in the UK.
International brewers now dominate the UK market, producing the inevitable marketing push behind their premium lagers. The outstanding premium lager brand in the UK is Stella Artois, from InBev of Belgium. However, below the multinationals there is a strong, and consolidating, tier of regional brewers protecting traditional brewing. These brewers are giving support to premium cask ales with proud origins, such as Abbot Ale, London Pride and Old Speckled Hen.
Cider has been an area of innovation in the market for fashionable drinks to replace the previous, ready-to-drink (RTD) spirits such as Smirnoff Ice. The sensation has been Magners — a cider imported from the Republic of Ireland — but Magners, and other `over-ice' ciders, are made to a sub-premium strength and, therefore, the cider sector has shifted in the short term with these `session' ciders, away from premiums.
Premium lagers are also now under attack from a wave of launches at sub-premium level (under 5% ABV), such as Beck's Vier and Budweiser Silver. The healthy-drinking issue has also produced a competitive low-strength session lager, for example, Carling C2 (2% ABV). As a result, the general prospects for premium drinks are currently muted, although the premium ales could do well from a maturing, more sophisticated consumer base.
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