The craft beer market is currently flying with volumes increasing by 5.2% in the On-Trade over the last 12 months*.
To make sure we're keeping up with this increased demand and substantial growth and evolution in the ‘craft’ beer sector, we've added a further 40 new products to our Boutique Beers range. Our range of Boutique Beers features over 135 beers across draught, bottles and cans.
Over the past year we sold over four million litres of beer from our Boutique offering, with sales of these SKUs seeing 45% YOY** volume increases. IPAs and porters continue to be popular, with more specialty styles such as farmhouse ales or saisons also seeing growing interest from customers. So we've introduced Tank 7 from Boulevard brewery, Kansas City. Craft beers from the UK have also seen a surge in popularity with value across the market up 28%***, so we've added Celt from Wales, Portobello from London and Thornbridge of Bakewell to name a few.
Back by popular demand, we showcased our Boutique Beers range at several events across the UK this summer. We kicked off in London and then headed to Liverpool and Bristol. These events give people the opportunity to meet the people behind the craft and try their hand at pairing food to beer.
We've also teamed up with Beer SommALEier, Melissa Cole, who put together an easy to use guide to match any Boutique Beers to customers’ menus to elevate the consumer experience.
“With 66% of U.K. beer drinkers willing to pay a little more money for better quality beer the craft beer movement is now booming. This is a really exciting time for beer and I’m delighted to see Matthew Clark championing the category with this extensive offering of craft beers from all corners of the world including Mexico, Japan and New Zealand. With such a variation in flavour profiles this provides endless food pairing possibilities"
By Melissa Cole
- Sources:
*CGA Strategy P02 2015 to 21/02/15
**MC Report MAT May 14 – Apr 15
***Nielsen Scantrack & Mintec 2014
