Ale sales suffer in market slowdown
Increased exposure and growth for premium ales could not overcome an overall market slip.
Sunshine and football, neither of which were on show this summer, are much more associated with lager than ale - so how come the fizzy yellow stuff managed to creep up 0.6 per cent while ale sales slumped 1 per cent?
There was some growth at the top of the league: John Smith's Extra Smooth, which has made its racing sponsorship very visible this year, grew sales by 8 per cent, while Old Speckled Hen, Newcastle Brown Ale and London Pride all saw reasonable sales increases - perhaps because the premium bottled ale market is in growth (see page 28).
Six of the top 10 ale brands saw sales decline, most of them significantly. Tetley's led the downward charge with Smoothflow, which lost 22 per cent of its value, and Original, which lost 29.
There is no doubt the brand suffered as a result of losing its long-held sponsorship of the England rugby team, especially considering how well they did in the World Cup, but Carlsberg insists Tetley's is still "the most associated ale brand with rugby" and hopes on-pack promotions and a team-up with Coral will strengthen those ties.
Greene King IPA, which is now the official beer of England Rugby, doesn't feature in the top 20 ales or the top 50 beer brands in the off-trade - even though it is the biggest-selling cask ale in the on-trade. But the rugby season has been successful for the brand, particularly its rugby-branded multipacks which Tesco promoted during the tournament.
Boddingtons' sales dropped 10 per cent to £33 million. The Cream of Manchester is still the second-biggest ale brand in the off-trade, with an 8 per cent share of the market, but it has gone very quiet as brand owner InBev UK focuses more on the lager market.
John Smith's Original is still clinging on to fifth place in the ale market, but its sales slumped 7 per cent after a 13 per cent decline last year.
Fuller's London Pride overtook both Tetley's brands to take eighth place this year, with sales climbing 13 per cent to £10 million. The brand, which does well in supermarkets, is keen to get a strong foothold in independents, particularly in the London area.
In seventh place, Caffrey's dropped 12 per cent to £12 million - but Coors has told OLN it has high hopes for the brand, which has benefited from being served extra-cold in the on-trade. The brewer hopes moves to sell Caffrey's chilled in the off-trade could give it a strong national presence.
Off-trade market value
Week ending Oct 6 2007: £441m
Week ending Oct 7 2006: £445m
Change: -1%
