Beermakers add flavour to tap changing customer tastes

Apple cider flavoured beers have enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years, accounting for 88 per cent of the global flavoured beer market by last year, according to research, and driving alcohol manufactures worldwide to incorporate the taste into their product offering.

“Consumers are demanding something different because familiar products such as lager have lost their appeal. Flavoured drinks have thus seen a rise in preference because they offer something unique and it also appeals to consumer senses,” said Stella Kimani, a Kenyan brand strategist.

The global demand for apple cider beers, which is made from the fermented juice of apples, thus tantalising consumers’ taste buds with a crisp apple taste, has led to players in the market globally investing in increasing the production of cider in order to catch the change in consumer taste and preferences.

“The cider market is a niche market, but it is growing rapidly. The demand for cider is increasing in countries such as the US where consumers are opting for cider consumption instead of beer. We forecast the global cider market to grow at a compound annual growth of more than six per cent during 2017-2021,” reported market research company Technavio.

“Apple flavoured cider and other fruit flavoured ciders are the two major product segments, of which, apple flavoured cider accounted for the majority of the market share in 2016.”

This has seen global beer manufacturer, Heineken, for instance, invest £126m in 2014 in its UK business to create a world class cider production facility capable of supporting its growth in the category.

Last year, the British alcohol manufacture invested over Euros three million more in the upgrade of its production facilities in order to compete effectively in the rising cider flavoured beer market.

Back home, Kenya Breweries last year, launched a new alcoholic beverage, Tusker Premium Cider, which was the first locally-produced cider in East Africa, made in Kenya in a bid to innovate and capture changing consumer preferences.

“Our ambition is to innovate constantly and at scale in order to address changing tastes and preference across a diverse category of consumers in the Kenyan market. I am extremely excited by Tusker Cider: it is the first locally-produced cider in the region, signifying how vibrant Kenya’s market has become in the last decade or so,” said Ms Jane Karuku, Kenya Breweries Managing Director.

Besides, cider flavoured beers, research has found that consumers also enjoy flavored spirits, with strawberry being women’s favourite flavour.

“In the spirit aisle, suppliers have pushed the limits. Vodka flavours like mango, peach, pineapple, cranberry, melon and kiwi continue to grow, and varieties like honey and cinnamon have worked well for whisky. While some win over the palate and some do not, flavoured spirits make up a notable piece of the overall pie: just more than 20 per cent of US vodka sales in Nielsen-measured off-premise channels come from flavours, and flavours have zoomed to represent 12 per cent of whisky sales, “ reported Nielsen.

“When we drill down by gender, we see varying flavour preferences. For example, males who like flavours, rate apple as their number one choice at 31 per cent. Females, however, prefer strawberry, and to an ever larger degree, at 40 per cent.”

Other flavours favoured by men include strawberry at 27 per cent, cherry at 25 per cent, lemon at 25 per cent and lime at 24 per cent.

Whereas women prefer flavours such at tropical at 28 per cent, raspberry at 25 per cent, lime at 23 per cent and apple at 22 per cent.

In terms of age, only eight per cent of women aged 21-34 indicated a dislike for flavored alcohol beverages, but 72 per cent of men age 65 and older said they did not like flavoured alcoholic beverages.

-African Laughter