The cider industry in the UK has had a rocky few years, like the alcoholic beverages industry generally. On-trade sales plummeted during the pandemic and consumers and producers alike are facing increased costs because of the war in Ukraine and inflation. The cider industry is facing an additional hurdle with increases in excise tax that have occurred over the last several years. Nevertheless, there is reason to think the worst may be over. Despite these headwinds, revenue has increased in the last few years since the 2021 low, growing by ten percent in 2023.
The market is recovering
The
UK cider market had a revenue of 2.74 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. By the end of 2024, growth is expected to have slowed compared to the previous year but still be positive at 4.38 percent. While
revenue was mostly found in the on-trade channel, volume showed nearly the exact opposite with off-trade making up the majority.
Where cider comes from and goes to
The vast majority of
UK cider exports go to North American and European markets. In particular, the largest
cider export markets were Canada, the U.S., and the Irish Republic. Meanwhile, nearly all
imports to the UK come from countries in the European Community. Of the approximately 104 million British pounds worth of imports, about 99 percent came from the EC. The
lion's share came from Ireland, with 92.16 million British pounds worth of imports originating from the nation.
Leaders in retail
The market leading retailer for
off-trade sales is the
grocery market leader Tesco, with 25 percent of cider sales generated by the grocery chain. Asda followed Tesco with 13 percent of sales. The
most popular brand of cider and fruit cider in the UK was Kopparberg, followed by Strongbow, and Rekordlig. Taken together, all
supermarket brands accounted for 1.9 million consumers.
Cider's future
With the COVID-19 pandemic and
record inflation in the UK in 2022,
consumer spending on cider declined for two consecutive years for the first time in decades. Inflation was still high in 2023, but lower than the previous year. Consumer spending rebounded to 11.1 billion British pounds. Despite some ominous signs, the
the number of cider consumers has at least appeared to have stabilized and revenue is on the rise. Barring the next unforeseen crisis, it appears the cider market may be in a position to resume growth.
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