Focus On Beer & Cider: 29 March

Focus On Beer & Cider

James Beeson (James.Beeson@thegrocer.co.uk)

Publishing: 29 March 2025

Advertising deadline: 14 March 2025

Submissions deadline: 3 March 2025

Print, digital and sponsorship opportunities

The black stuff is booming, whilst beer and cider sales continue to struggle. Combined sales of the UK’s 10 biggest stouts have surged by 19.7% on volumes up 16.3% in the past year [NIQ]. As any booze marketeer will tell you, maintaining growth requires brands to stay relevant with younger drinkers. So how is stout managing to recruit a new generation of drinkers? What are cider, lager and ale brands doing to stay relevant? And what can they learn from stout?

Ale & Stout: This feature will explore the factors that have are driving growth in sales of stout and the extent to which this is down to efforts by brands to appeal to younger drinkers. How successful have innovations and NPD been?

Lager: Lager volumes have fallen slightly over the past year. Why? What can lager brands learn from the stout? And how have the lager brands that are in growth managed to defy the downturn? Have they become more competitive in terms of price? Launched new, premium products? Spent more on marketing?

Cider: Cider sales are also falling. Why? However, some cider brands are in growth. So what are they doing differently?

Low & No: This feature will also explore the extent to which low and no alcohol alternatives are driving growth for parent brands and whether these products are providing a ‘gateway’ for younger drinkers, who are more likely to drink less alcohol than older people.

Innovation: This feature will pay close attention to the latest trends in the market and how this is playing out in terms of product innovation. We will profile four of the most interesting launches, ideally ones that have not appeared in The Grocer before. We need launch date, rsp, and a hi-res picture of each.