The elevation of Tyskie beer into our ranking of Britain’s 100 Biggest Booze Brands speaks to the massive demographic change in modern Britain.
In fact, if the PM wanted his Cabinet restructure to be more representative of modern Britain, he should surely look to elevate a Pole.
While UKIP leader Nigel Farage clings on to the past (and his pint of Greene King ale), Tyskie (now ranked 83rd in our report) is growing at an incredible 39.9%, one of a number of world beers in growth. And like Peroni (23; 14.4%), Sol (118; 28.5%), and Corona (41; 17.2%) it’s a long-term trend.
”If the PM wanted his Cabinet restructure to represent modern Britain, he should look to elevate a Pole”
Adam Leyland, Editor
But Tyskie is not a world beer in that sense. Nor is it a mainstream beer brand of foreign extraction like Beck’s, Kronenbourg, Stella, Foster’s. Though owner Miller Brands claims the introduction of a bottled variant has attracted native Brits as part of their “discovery repertoire”, this is the beer for the growing population of Poles in the UK. A socioeconomic group that, two or three years ago, was almost certainly declining but now - given the strength of the pound, and the increase in the minimum wage - will surely only increase. Along with Bulgarians, Romanians and other Eastern Europeans.
Tyskie isn’t a tramp juice, a super-cheap or below-cost beer. At an average £2.61/litre, it isn’t even the cheapest branded beer in our ranking (an honour that falls to Carling at £1.69/litre), which says a lot about the value of the Polish immigrant population - although the presence of further supply sourced from Europe via the grey market has helped smaller retailers to compete, and means the true value of Tyskie in the UK may actually be even higher than our ranking suggests (though Nielsen captures Epos-based sales).
Tyskie is a good product, and a strong brand - an icon of Polish taste, modern Britain, and the value of this community to the grocery sector, both in terms of jobs and grocery sales. Perhaps over time, it will develop into a mainstream brand in this country. In the meantime let’s celebrate the SAB Miller-owned brand for what it’s achieved.
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