Long Alcoholic Drinks (LAD’s) are the most successful categories over summer. According to CGA’s 2018 reports, cider out-performed total LAD market with 0.4% uplift in volume and 2.7% uplift in value. Although apple cider still dominates volume, the uplift is driven though flavoured, draught and premium cider.
Triggering more friends and family occasions though events is a key growth driver to maximise sales of cider in the summer. Cider Festivals are a great way of offering guests the opportunity to taste a variety of different ciders. It also allows pub owners to raise awareness of their pub in the local area, and attract new guests.
To support our Business Partners, we have worked with our suppliers to extend our cider range to include more premium bottled cider and a larger range of flavoured bag-in-box (BIB) variants. In addition, we have offered our Business Partners the opportunity to buy into cider drinks promotions. This has included a chance to receive a Weston’s Cider Festival Kit, to support with the lead up to the peak summer trading period
Here are a few suggestions that we advise our Business Partners to consider when holding a cider festival:
Product range
Consider the length of the festival, size of the pub and how many guest you expect to attend. Offer a range of AVB’s, colours, styles& flavours in addition to the standard range. Once you have the right range, ensure your pricing is correct to drive satisfaction amongst guest and gain profitability for your pub.
Increase footfall, dwell times and sales
Encourage drinkers to spend longer at the pub with entertainment such as local bands, simple competitions and giveaways. Ensure food is available throughout the day and consider different formats e.g. sharing platters, apple themed dishes or gourmet burgers/hotdogs.
Educate team members
A well trained and educated team will be able to talk confidently about each cider and encourage guests in their decision making process. Prompt cards with tasting notes will help team members remember which ciders are on offer to match the guest taste preferences. Offering tasting flights will also help guests find a cider they love.
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