Westons has welcomed a new permanent addition to its Henry Westons lineup.
Called Henry Westons 1880 Vintage, the cider is billed as a celebration of 145 years of cidermaking at Westons.
It has launched in 500ml bottles via Booker, and will roll out in Asda, Sainsbury’s and Co-op (rsp: £2.50) from late March. A 750ml bottle format will also be available exclusively in Tesco from late March.
Inspired by a recipe from the Westons family archives, the 6.2% abv Henry Westons 1880 Vintage is made using traditional apples like Dabinett, Yarlington Mill, and Kingston Black.
The apples came from a single year’s harvest and were sourced from within 50 miles of Westons’ mill in Herefordshire.
The resulting tipple was “an accessible yet premium choice” that combined “ripe apple aromas, sweet oak notes, and a golden apple hue”, Westons said.
Henry Westons 1880 Vintage offered “retailers a valuable opportunity to drive further growth, capitalising on the rapidly expanding crafted cider segment”, the cidermaker explained.
Crafted cider was growing faster than any other cider subcategory and was now worth £265m, it added, citing Circana data.
“Henry Westons 1880 Vintage is a true celebration of our heritage and craftsmanship, made from a recipe passed down through five generations of the Westons family,” said Henry Westons brand manager Holly Chadwick.
The cider delivered “the unparalleled quality and authenticity” for which Henry Westons was known, and was “a must-stock for retailers eager to capitalise on the sustained growing demand for crafted, heritage-led ciders”, Chadwick added.
Henry Westons is the third-biggest cider in the UK off-trade, worth £79.8m. Its sales climbed 9.1% on volumes up 6.7% last year, according to The Grocer’s Top Products survey [NIQ 52 w/e 7 September 2024].
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