FEATURE
CARNIVALS & FESTIVALS
52 ASIAN TRADER 27 JUNE 2025
And because venue prices are
steep, many festival-goers are
likely to seek out local stores
for their alcohol needs.
Retailers should look to
build beer mountains, use
prominent water displays, and
create eye-catching promo
tions.
Many festival-goers buy
alcohol from local shops to
avoid high venue prices with
beer, cider, pre-mixed
cocktails and cheap
wine often seen in high
demand.
And stocking the
bestselling brands
always helps. Just like
HEINEKEN UK’s
bestselling formats
namely Cruzcampo
10x440ml, Birra
Moretti 12x330ml,
and Heineken
4x440ml multi
packs.
Reflecting on the
consumer trends,
Alexander Wilson,
Category and Commercial
Strategy Director at HEINEKEN
UK, says, “Single packs are ideal
for grab-and-go and summer
festival moments, and small-
sized multipacks are a popular,
accessible choice for those who
are looking to share with
friends and walking to their
local store.”
“For retailers who want to
build a strong range of world
beers which cater to those
occasions, our bestselling small
world lager packs include Birra
Moretti 4x440ml and Despera
dos 4 pack can.”
And it’s not just about what’s
sold, but how it’s stored,
implying products should be
chilled where possible.
For cider, Strongbow Dark
Fruit 10x440ml packs are the
bestselling flavoured cider
within the impulse channel,
followed by Strongbow Original
10x440mland Strongbow Dark
Fruit 4x568mlpacks.
Wilson tells Asian Trader,
“These are all year-round
favourites and bring the most
sales value though all channels.
“Retailers should
stock up well in
advance to ensure
they are fully
prepared ahead of
the summer trading
period.”
The summer
months see strong
growth of berry and
exotic flavoured
ciders, with berry-
flavoured cider SKUs
accounting for 24.3
per cent of overall
cider sales, including
mainstream and
premium options.
Therefore it is wise to
keep a good quantity of
Strongbow Original and
Strongbow Dark Fruit, as well
as the latest flavour variant
Strongbow Strawberry.
Premium world lager brands
perform incredibly well during
the summer, accounting for 25
per cent of category sales and
continuing to grow year-on-
year.
This growth shows consum
ers’ growing desire to discover
new tastes, especially when
coming together for summer
celebrations such as barbecues
or festivals.
Wilson says, “For retailers
looking to capitalise on this and
first of its kind, adopting the
same thirst-quenching flavour
as the original, with a fresh
apple aroma in the form of a
lightly sparkling cider
Inch’s Cloudy is a lightly
sparkling, naturally cloudy
cider, crafted with juicy
British apples to create a
crisp, highly refreshing
and light summer
staple. Available in
4x440ml and
10x440ml multi
packs, the off-trade
exclusive aims to
appeal to younger
cider drinkers.
Old Mout has
expanded its range of
premium ciders with the
introduction of Old Mout
Mango & Passionfruit. Available
across the grocery, wholesale
and convenience channels, the
new flavour is rolling out in
10x330ml cans and single
500ml bottle formats with an
ABV of four per cent.
venture into the premium
segment, we recommend
building on their core range of
classic lager brands with a range
of world beers, which will
facilitate trade-up and a
bigger basket spend
overall.
“Leveraging
well-known brands
that consumers
recognise and trust,
and which continue
to grow, such as Birra
Moretti and Cruzcam
po, is always a great
place to start.”
HEINEKEN UK
introduced two new vari
ants under its booming
Inch’s Cider brand. Inch’s
Cloudy (ABV four per cent) and
the first de-alcoholised cider in
the UK market, Inch’s 0.0, are
now available across the
grocery, wholesale and conveni
ence channels.
Available in 4x440ml
multipack cans, Inch’s 0.0 is a
Keep it chilled
Alexander Wilson, Category and
Commercial Strategy Director at
HEINEKEN UK, is here to guide
convenience retailers on how to have a
memorable summer
Having a fully stocked display with a good mix of core brands
and trending lines is the best way retailers can retain loyal
customers.
Effective ranging and merchandising also involving focused
in-store displays to drive incremental sales.
Single packs are ideal for grab-and-go and summer festival
moments while small-sized multipacks are a popular,
accessible choice for those who are looking to share with
friends
Retailers should stock bestselling small world lager packs
include Birra Moretti 4x440ml and Desperados 4 pack can
For cider specifically, during the summer months Strongbow
Dark Fruit 10x440ml packs are the bestselling flavoured cider
within the impulse channel, followed by Strongbow Original
10x440ml and Strongbow Dark Fruit 4x568ml packs.
The summer months see strong growth of berry and exotic
flavoured ciders, with berry flavoured cider SKUs accounting
for 24.3 per cent of overall cider sales – including mainstream
and premium options
Premium world lager brands perform incredibly well during
the summer – accounting for 25% of category sales and
continuing to grow year-on-year