Beer

David Wigham, portfolio activation director for Coors, comments: "While overall we are seeing a small downward trend in beer consumption in the GB market, thankfully we are still a nation of beer lovers consuming over nine billion pints a year. 2007 was a particularly tough year with the combined effect of the smoking ban in the on trade and a dismal summer hitting the on and off trade."

And in the beer category, lager is the star, according to Simon Harrison, commercial director, off trade, at InBev UK. He says: "Lager continues to spearhead the development of the take home market and accounts for an 84.8% share of volume business. Volume sales of lager declined by 1.3% in the most recent period with standard lager growing by 0.5% and premium lager declining by 2.8%."

He adds: "Stella Artois is our biggest and most important brand in this channel - as the number one take home alcoholic drinks brand. This year has seen a real resurgence in its performance supported by our approach to duty fraud, innovation of new packs exclusively for the channel, such as the 8x500ml price-marked pack, and added-value activity." The latest activity launches this month when shoppers who buy two eight-packs will receive the instant reward of a branded Chalice glass.

Harrison also points to a trend towards standard premium lager, and says: "Retailers need to stock emerging brands such as Beck's Vier which is performing extremely well with volume sales growth of 148% over the past year. This is coming on the back of a superb on trade growth and added-value activity with glassware once again exclusive to the channel." The Beck's Vier promotion, which has been running across 300 wholesalers and 3,000 independent retailers in England and Wales from mid-April, offers shoppers purchasing two six-packs a boxed branded glass.

Harrison says that other InBev UK brands are also performing well, "particularly Tennent's Lager in Scotland, Beck's and Boddingtons which are showing encouraging growth in 2008", and adds: "InBev UK is running a series of depot days at some 400 wholesale outlets attended by the company's sales team who will be actively selling in the cash and carry."

For Coors, Wigham says: "Carling outsells all other mainstream and premium lagers in the independents sector, and therefore remains the most important beer brand to us and to the trade.

"We are also seeing increasing popularity of lighter tasting lagers and a move away from ABV being a determinant of the premium status of beer brands. For example, Coors Light and Sol are enjoying good growth across the GB market. They are lighter tasting, appealing to male and female consumers and both at an ABV of 4.5%."

The 2% ABV variant of Carling, C2, is also growing at more than 20% in the off trade, and Wigham says a new 4x300ml pack will be launched this summer. Wigham says Grolsch is also growing in the independent sector and will be supported with on-pack activity and its eight-bottle price-marked pack.

He adds: "We still see ales having an important role and we will continue to support important off trade ale brands such as Worthington's, Stones and Caffrey's. For example Caffrey's is one of the few ales which still tastes great served ice cold - watch out for the new Caffrey's can this summer featuring our cold beer indicator."

'Convenient cold beer' will be the theme of Coors summer marketing, with the cold beer indicators linking into its TV advertising. In depot in July there will also be a Carling cool bags offer for independent retailers.

The importance of the wholesale sector to Anheuser-Busch is emphasised by UK marketing director Vicki Kipling. She says: "The significance of the wholesale channel to our brands is evidenced throughout our business. For example, the 'True Dedication' campaign for Budweiser includes specific promotions for cash and carry customers and point of sale.

"Price-marked packs are available across Budweiser cans and bottles exclusively through cash and carries. These packs give the consumer the confidence that they are buying a premium product at a value-for-money price point, such as 4x500ml can at £4.79 and 6x300ml NRB at £5.99. We have also introduced a new SKU of a 12x355ml can to this sector." She also notes that cans outperform bottles in the wholesale sector.

Kipling urges wholesalers to also stock Anheuser-Busch's other key brands in the UK, Estrella Damm, Harbin and Michelob, as they will all be supported by high-profile activity this year. Looking ahead, she adds: "From August we will be leveraging our sponsorship of the Barclays Premier League with the launch of a new consumer promotion aimed at the cash and carry sector."

S&N UK's biggest activity this year will centre around Foster's with in-can Scuba and Kronenbourg 1664 with Dynamo Système, which will be backed by a £12m marketing campaign. Jim Parker, UK trading director, impulse (off trade), says this has been reflected in cash and carries and delivered wholesale. "S&N UK recently ran chiller activities during the Foster's with in-can Scuba and Kronenbourg 1664 with Dynamo Système launch to get greater visibility and emphasise the cold-message, as the product is best served when chilled. The retailers were given the chance to win Sub Zero Chillers.

"We're also running staff education projects and, this year, focusing on depot staff education as well as retailer workshops later in the year." He adds: "Staff education is key and we are currently delivering a project in partnership with Landmark Wholesale which focuses on this area. We believe this is the first time an initiative of this kind has taken place in the wholesale channel and since the start of the year it has involved spending time with the management and staff, providing training on S&N UK products, and helping them to understand trends in the LADs (long alcoholic drinks) category, the overall market and how that affects demand. Over time we'll be able to track how effective this has been for the staff and uplift, however we see the real motivation for this as an essential activity to raise awareness and educate about S&N UK and our portfolio."

Heineken UK is rolling out its five-litre Heineken DraughtKeg to all trade customers following its initial launch into selected outlets last summer, and new listings include Booker, Nisa-Today's, Costcutter and Spar.

Chris Duffy, Heineken UK's customer marketing controller, says the trial went well in all trading channels, particularly in the run-up to Christmas, and the roll-out will be supported by in-store POS, added value in-store promotions and advertising.

Heineken is also launching a new TV and cinema advert in its 'Use your continental head' campaign.

It will be appearing on TV screens through to the end of June, and a longer version will be shown in cinemas nationally from June through to mid-November.

Duffy says: "Last year's activity proved to be highly successful in gaining awareness for and acceptance of our 'continental head' message and we'll be stepping up the pace this year."

Diageo is continuing to invest in its Guinness brand having recently launched a £3m advertising campaign marking the end of the rugby season, where it sponsored the Guinness Premiership, and the lead-in to summer.

Paul Cornell, marketing manager for Guinness, says: "Last year consumers spent more than £1bn buying Guinness and as the number one beer brand associated with rugby, Guinness drinkers can prove valuable retail customers during the final stages of the sporting season."

He adds: "Guinness Draught in cans is one of the few beer brands currently continuing to drive sales in the off-trade beer category, up 3.2% value on the MAT (versus beer at -1.9%) and up +6% in volume."

A growing willingness among consumers to try new beers is helping to grow Global Brands' portfolio of beers. Jenny Allaway, off-trade sales director, says: "Authentic world beers, have a genuine point of difference. This is a trend that we predict will continue to grow. Beers in our portfolio, including Salitos, Carib and Viru, show an element of strength, which is a good sign for the future."

She says Salitos is a strong performer in the wholesale channel and Carib is a strong niche performer, especially around the London depots where there is a strong Afro Caribbean influence. She adds: "Carib currently has a very strong offer in Dhamecha - a purchase of four cases gets one case free, plus a free POS pack. We also have some strong Salitos activity lined up for the summer in Makro."

The strength of world beers compared with the overall beer market is also emphasised by Cobra Beer. Ben Parmar, channel controller cash and carry, says: "Despite the beer and lager markets continuing to decline in both volume and value, the world beers category is showing staggering growth. The prospects for world beers in the market as a whole and the impulse sector are very promising, as the sector outperforms on value, showing the opportunity to trade shoppers up to more premium formats. Cobra Beer is one of the best performing brands in the category, growing at nearly four times in value versus world beers in impulse."

He adds: "At Cobra Beer we continue to invest in the wholesale channel and we have recently invested in a new trade marketing team in addition to our nationwide sales team after recent channel growth of 40% year on year. We've also initiated a Cobra Beer direct team who visit retailers directly to give them first-hand information about our wholesaler activities and availability of our products.

"We will be rolling out our 'Now you're talking' campaign to every single cash and carry chain in the country, which will be the largest promotional activity for the wholesale channel that Cobra Beer has ever run."

A world beer that has become synonymous with Chinese food in the restaurant sector is the Chinese lager Tsingtao. Halewood International recently took over distribution of the brand and says its aim is to make it the leading imported beer brand within five years.

Nigel Tarn, Halewood International's senior brand manager for Tsingtao, says: "We've completed the first phase of our plan to consolidate our relationship with the Chinese and ethnic grocery sectors and we are now looking to take Tsingtao to a much wider audience using Halewood International's relationships in the on and off trades coupled with its marketing and distribution expertise and we are confident we will achieve our long-term goal."

Chang is a newcomer to the UK market, but is the best selling beer in Thailand. Roger Barrey, Interbev Group's director of beer - international, comments: "Chang UK, which has been established by Interbev Group to develop sales of Chang Beer in the UK, is initially focusing on gaining distribution in the growing number of pubs and bars serving Thai food, Thai restaurants and via specialist oriental and Asian supermarkets, wholesalers, and cash and carries. The brand is now listed by Booker."

World beer specialist Pierhead is also carrying out activity with wholesalers. Director of imported beer Michael Cook says: "In the last six months we have seen huge sales increases in the wholesaler and cash and carry sector and we expect this to continue with Parfitt's Cash and Carry now listing our range of beers from around the world. We have seen huge interest for our iconic brands; Desperados from Mexico, Quilmes from Argentina, Moosehead from Canada and Coopers and James Boag's from Australia. He says the company runs tastings and regular promotional activities in the cash and carry sector.

Cider

Magners is the cider brand that has received most of the coverage over the past few years due to its over ice innovation and the meteoric rise in sales, but S&N UK still rules the category with Strongbow. Recently Magners sales growth has slowed as S&N's Bulmers Original has chipped away at its position, together with a plethora of new premium cider launches. Press reports have tended to overstate its problems in the off trade however. As the boss of another cider company told ProWholesaler: "If 89% growth is a problem, I'd like that problem."

Jim Parker, UK trading director, impulse (off-trade) at S&N UK comments: "Traditionally, cider has been very important through the wholesale channel. Cider value continues to thrive in impulse based on latest data, which shows its growth of 11.9%. As a result of cider's popularity, brands like Strongbow and Bulmers Original trade extremely well while S&N UK has the largest value share of the cider market in impulse of 47.9%, which is a growth of 19%.

"Price-marked four-packs are essential in this channel and, over the last couple of years, have become more relevant as consumers feel it gives them peace of mind that the product is not heavily marked up compared to the price they could pay in the grocery channel."

He adds: "Jacques, which has been marketed to women as an alternative to wine, sells very well in wholesale and our customers tell us it's driving the growth of the 750ml size bottle. We recently launched a new variant, Jacques Orchard Fruits, to extend our offering alongside Jacques Fruits of the Forest.

S&N also recently rolled out Bulmers Pear in the wholesale channel and has just launched a new low-calorie version of Bulmers Original. The launch of Bulmers Pear and Bulmers Light is part of a £20m investment behind the Bulmers brand in 2008.

While premium cider sales have been in strong growth in the overall off trade, Gaymer Cider Company managing director John Mills warned last year that wholesalers were missing out on much of the opportunity through too little focus on premium cider and too much focus on PETs.

This year he says there has been some improvement, but wholesalers are still missing out, particularly in the super premium end of the market.

He also argues that cash and carries need to mount permanent full pallet multi-buy promotions of cider to give it the visibility to benefit from the buoyant market. He says: "They should pick four or five key brands and put them on cross brand promotions offering something like four cases get one free. It's no good having a brand on promotion for a few weeks, and then it coming off again, because it gives retailers no chance to build up the business."

While premium cider has captured the headlines, mainstream cider has also grown strongly, and was up 17% in 2007. Mills says multi-pack cans of brands such as Olde English and Blackthorn offer a strong opportunity and Gaymer has had long-standing price-marked eight-packs at £5.50. He adds that Gaymer has invested strongly in the cash and carry sector with more than £1m spent on features such as branded tower ends and other POS.

A cull of some of the many products in the premium cider category is predicted by Chris Carr, managing director of Merrydown. He says: "A couple of years ago there were about 25 products. At the end of last year it was 82 and now it is probably more than 100." The brands that will last are the ones that are established and receive strong support, he adds.

Merrydown has been investing in raising its profile in cash and carries. It is reinforcing its premium cider credentials by moving from shrinkwrap to 6x1 litre boxes printed in full colour. Carr says: "We pride ourselves on being the most premium cider in the cash and carry sector and it is only right we should also look the most premium." Carr says Merrydown has a long history of supporting the wholesale channel and it accounts for more than half of its sales.

Merrydown is also running a marketing campaign to highlight how well it complements spicy foods supported by TV food and drink pundit Joe Wadsack. The 'Curry and Merrydown' campaign was launched at London Michelin-starred Indian restaurant Benares, when Wadsack matched Merrydown's ciders alongside a seven-course tasting menu from award-winning chef Atul Kochur.

Despite the growth in premium and mainstream cider, sales of white cider in the off trade actually fell in 2007. One of the brands that resisted this trend was Aston Manor's Frosty Jacks. Glenn Asquith, sales and marketing director, says: "Frosty Jacks is our main take home brand and we've seen a huge increase in sales over the last year. We've just embarked on a comedy sponsorship programme with both MTV and ITV2, which will increase the public's recognition of the brand, and drive business through both wholesale and local business. We have also seen strong interest and growth in our established perry brand Chardolini and the Premium Reserve cider we launched last year. Premium Reserve in particular is building value and sales as part of the resurgent interest in ciders and especially more premium ciders."

Asquith says the wholesale channel is vital to Aston Manor's business. "We are the largest independent cider producer in the UK, and sell predominantly into the off trade. Although our brands are stocked in many of the major supermarkets, a large proportion of our sales are through the convenience sector, which relies on wholesalers to stock their shelves. It's essential to our business that we continue the relationship we have with wholesalers as this increases our presence in local shops and businesses where our brands thrive."

The renewed interest in cider is also helping smaller traditional cider brands. Martin Thatcher, managing director of Thatchers Cider Company, says: "The continued introduction of new products within our single variety range allows people to experiment with tastes, and as consumers who were first introduced to the category a few years ago now look to try something new and develop their understanding of cider, so the concept of a single variety cider, and the characteristics borne out of the type of apple, are recognised."

Thatchers is running integrated marketing campaigns for its key brands, Katy and Gold, over the spring and summer period. Gold saw a 75% increase in sales in 2007, selling over 5.5 million pints across the on and off trades.

St Helier is a cider with a high profile thanks to its sponsorship of the coverage of the Championship football league on ITV. Paul Burton, joint managing director of InterContinental Brands, says more than half the population saw the sponsorship, and it has also spent around £1m on sponsorship of Entourage on ITV2.

Burton says the wholesale channel is vital to his company. He explains: "When we formed ICB as a new independent company in 1990 we recognised how key the sector would be to our growth and built strong links with wholesalers. The independent trade, cash and carry and delivered wholesale were, and still are, crucial routes to market. We now deal with every major operator in that channel."

One of the most recent introductions to the UK market is +46, an imported Swedish cider available in apple and pear variants launched by Halewood Interrnational.

Although it is entering an increasingly crowded marketplace marketing controller Richard Clark believes it has the sohistication to stand out from the crowd.

Halewood International and brand owner Herrljunga Cider AB have announced plans to invest £500,000 in the launch of the brand in the UK before rolling it out internationally.

Clark says: "We believe we have shown it is possible to deliver a high-quality product in packaging that will appeal to a new consumer base and provide additional interest to the category for existing consumers."

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