The cider segment has long been dominated by a small sampling of national brands which shape the industry’s perception of the segment’s overall performance. But regional cider brands tell a different story; one of growth, product diversity and changing consumer perspectives.
Leaders from four regional craft breweries – Yonder Cider founder Caitlin Braam, 2 Towns co-owner Nels Jewell-Larsen, Schilling Cider CCO Eric Phillips and Artifact Cider Project co-founder Soham Bhatt – gathered on stage at Brewbound Live in Santa Monica last month to break some of the myths surrounding cider and the opportunities ahead for the segment.
“We started in 2010 and since then, pretty much quarter over quarter, we’ve seen good growth in that segment, and we continue today,” Jewell-Larsen said. “So while the [over]all market might be slightly down 1%… that regional, local craft segment is up around 5%.”
In IRI-tracked channels (multi-outlet food plus convenience), the total cider segment is down -1.1% in the latest four week period through November 27 and -3.7% year-to-date. However, regional cideries have grown and outperformed national brands.
“Right now we’re right at that moment where national is down 10%, regional is up 11%, so it looks like 1% total growth, but it’s actually this massive shift in dollars,” Bhatt said.
The growth of regional brands has been driven by a few key factors, including a wider variety of cider options available for consumers and the start of a greater understanding of what cider is and has to offer.
“So many people have never tried cider in the last 10 years,” Phillips said. “They tried it 10 years ago, 15 years ago… But that is not cider now, and that’s a big part of the conversation that we have in trying to educate people.”
“We’re also seeing cider getting into more places,” Braam said. “It’s not just one tap handle, sometimes it’s two now. And it’s not just cider: there’s dry cider, there’s flavored cider, there’s a little bit of everything. There’s the higher ABV, there’s more options and opportunities and people are starting to recognize that you’re not just going in and ordering whatever cider is on the menu.”
Cider – which is federally categorized as a wine – has a leg up on traditional beer in some areas, including the ability to ship direct-to-consumer in most states, and the already established ability to work with fruit-forward offerings that makes the transition to growing segments like ready-to-drink canned cocktails (RTDs) easier. The segment also speaks to a broader audience, allowing it to bring in consumers and demographics that beer fails to reach, Bhatt said.
“The numbers have shown that cider in general has one of the widest demographic spreads of interest,” he said. “So there isn’t a particular skew, whether it’s where people are from, what their socioeconomic background is, gender, race, age even, which is also an exciting thing. When we talk about trying to exploit areas that are new [and] find new customers, the good thing about cider’s versatility is that there’s probably some way to talk to a customer in almost every demographic segment.”
Watch the video above to hear the panelists’ discuss the hurdles cider still faces – including regulatory challenges – and how each of their companies are approaching innovation.