Strongbow Dark Fruit Celebrates 5th Birthday and Targets £2Bn on Trade Sales by 2024
Strongbow Dark Fruit, the UK’s #2 cider brand, is celebrating its fifth birthday this year following unprecedented growth
Since launching in 2014, Strongbow Dark Fruit has led the growth of flavoured cider category, catapulting into second spot behind only Strongbow Original
With the highest ROS of any cider brand and selling three times more than the nearest competitor, the nation’s favourite flavoured cider offers a significant opportunity for licensees
One in four pints of cider sold in UK pubs and bars is Strongbow Dark Fruit, however currently half of all UK pubs do not stock a flavoured cider on the bar - another reason to stock now
The UK’s #2 cider brand, Strongbow Dark Fruit, is celebrating its fifth birthday this year. Following its meteoric rise since launch, the trailblazing flavoured cider continues to dominate the market – for operators there’s never been a better time to join the party and celebrate in superior cider sales.
Following a small in-market trial, Strongbow’s first flavoured variant was rolled out to pubs and bars in 2014 with the aim of re-invigorating draught cider sales, which had not experienced as much growth as bottled cider in previous years.
Since then, the draught cider market has seen phenomenal growth with an additional 20 million pints poured in 2018 alone – 18 million of those were Strongbow Dark Fruit, demonstrating the importance of the brand to the growth of the category. Driven in part by an unrivalled, loyal consumer fanbase, the brand now accounts for one in four pints of cider poured in all UK pubs and bars.
Despite the unbelievable growth of flavoured cider, 50 percent of outlets do not currently range a flavoured cider on the bar, therefore there is still a huge opportunity for outlets to join the Dark Fruit party and maximise sales.
Latest research shows that 45% of 18-24 year olds would choose the brand if available, making it the #1 draught cider choice for this group. With the highest ROS of any cider brand and selling three times more than the nearest competitor, Strongbow Dark Fruit offers a significant opportunity for licensees to boost sales and grow their businesses.
Jerry Shedden, Category & Trade Marketing Director at Heineken, said: “What Strongbow Dark Fruit has achieved in its short life is undeniable. No one could have really predicted the phenomenal response it would receive in pubs and bars across the country and the love that the British consumer would develop for it.
Strongbow Dark Fruit’s position in the category is unrivalled and thanks to its loyal fans and customers it has delivered almost £1bn to the on trade in only five years. The brand shows no signs of slowing down, and we anticipate this figure doubling in the next five years! Strongbow Dark Fruit is quite simply a must stock in the UK on trade.”
Contact your Heineken Sales Rep, or The Customer Hub on 0345 878 707, for install and POS kit support.
