Beverage Dynamics

Beverage Dynamics July-Aug 2014

Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.

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Cider Scramble 34 Beverage Dynamics • July/August 2014 www.beveragedynamics.com makers hope they're planting the seeds for market growth for de- cades to come. "The legal-drinking-age millennial is eager to experiment with new fl avors, and they expect choice," says Royce Carvalho, brand manager of the MillerCoors canned cider, Smith & Forge, which is marketing itself as the cider of choice for young males. The company also markets Crispin Hard Cider. It isn't just young adults who are buoying cider's prospects these days. Americans are more conscious about health and food-and-beverage sourcing than ever before. Hard ciders can sell themselves as lower in calories than beers, gluten-free, and "all-natural." "Millennials make a connection to the apple," says Dan Rowell, CEO and president of Vermont Cider, maker of Wood- chuck Cider, and treasurer of the United State Association of Cider Makers. And signifi cantly, the hard cider consumer profi le is nearly a 50-50 split among men and women, producers point out. BIG BREWERS IN THE GAME The big boys of the brewing industry have noticed America's renewed love affair with cider. In 2012, MillerCoors acquired Crispin Ciders. This spring, Heineken's Strongbow brought two new fl avors, Honey & Apple and Gold Apple, to market. And the normally cautious InBev similarly added Johnny Appleseed cider to its lineup in early April, offering an unusually stark alterna- tive to its already successful Michelob Ultra Light Cider. InBev's bolstering its new entry's chances with a "signifi cant" media buy on television programming meant to strengthen the Johnny Ap- pleseed's identity as what Aguilera described as a "100% co-ed brand." Observers have dubbed the brand an Angry Orchard killer, designed specifi cally to steal market share from today's No. 1 hard cider. "Right now, we're all over entertainment cable, and also on late- night TV shows like Jimmy Fallon, we're on Colbert Report and the Daily Show," Aguilera says. "We decided to make a big investment no this, and we don't take brand launches lightly--it's been eight years since we've launched a new brand, and we want consumers, wholesalers and retailers to know they can be confi dent we're a brand that's here to stay." Just as you notice when the biggest kid in summer camp climbs into your once-light canoe, InBev and MillerCoors's interest in the cider market has forced adjustments from those who've been sling- ing apple juice for years. Right now, Boston Beer Co.'s Angry Or- chard sits on top of the heap, far above everyone else, commanding more than one-third of the market, according to Beverage Informa- tion Group research--in fact, its sales are more than twice as much as the second place entry, veteran hard cider producer Woodchuck. MillerCoors's Crispin nabbed the No. 3 spot after boasting a stun- ning 71.1% increase in 2012-2013. Heineken's Strongbow followed at No. 4, while Irish-based C&C's longtime cider stalwarts, Horns- by's and Magners, which both saw modest growth, hung on at No. 5 and No. 6. InBev's Michelob Ultra Light Cider, meanwhile, saw a 63% climb to No. 7. For Vermont, the big guys' meteoric rise has meant familiar ciders like Woodchuck have had to concentrate on keeping their feet fi rmly on the ground--at least for now, Rowell says. Vermont ceded the top spot to Angry Orchard between 2012 and 2013, though Woodchuck enjoyed a respectable 22% increase in sales. "When the fi rst cider makers conference met, there were 35 of us, Rowell said. "Last time, in Chicago, we had to cut people out at 450--and there were a lot more at the entrance. Commercial ciders are getting the distribution, new ciders are coming into the category, and consumers want to try different things. But we're confi dent they will come back to us." Far from being worried about the abruptly ultra-competitive environment, cider makers swear they welcome the newcomers, making for an unexpected esprit de corps among rivals. "We spent 23 years trying to convince retailers to carry a cider," Rowell adds. "We don't need to convince them anymore. They Boston Beer's line of Angry Orchard hard ciders have quickly become the top-selling brand in the U.S. Anheuser-Busch InBev has had initial success with Michelob Ultra Light Hard Cider and has followed that up with the recent launch of Johnny Appleseed Hard Cider. MillerCoors boasts the third-best-selling hard cider in Crispin. The company also recently debuted another, higher-proof hard cider brand, Smith & Forge, with a serious marketing push.

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