Stella Artois is set for a dramatic move into cider

Stella Artois is set for a dramatic move into cider,–the first time a leading lager brand has crossed the category divide.

Stella Cidre, a 4.5% abv premium cider, will be brewed exclusively for the UK market in Belgium using Jonagold apples and aims to tap into continuing growth in the UK cider category.
More than half the world’s cider is drunk in the UK and after double-digit sales growth in recent years, 2010 saw another impressive performance, with value up 7.7% and volumes rising 5.1%, according to the latest figures [Nielsen, 52 w/e 2 October].

But for Stella Artois and its parent company, AB InBev, the launch marks a radical departure. The first move by AB InBev into cider, it also extends the scope of Stella – the UK’s number-one alcoholic drinks brand – to a category that rivals thought was inaccessible for a lager brand. UK chairman and president Stuart MacFarlane said that in 20 years at AB InBev, this was the most excited he had ever been about a launch. “Stella Cidre will prove once and for all that Stella, as a brand, is right up there with other leading fmcg brands, such as Coca-Cola, in its ability to reach new customers in new categories.”

 On the decision to use Stella as the vehicle, MacFarlane said it could bring “premium, craft, heritage and quality to the cider category mix – the same skills that have brought success in lager.” MacFarlane claimed the Stella launch would double the cider market’s current growth trajectory. “We can accelerate cider growth," he said. "It will provide the flywheel for the next phase in the UK cider category’s growth. It’s what the market has been waiting for.