er its debut in the US, A-B InBev has decided to roll out its Stella Artois Cidre brand across the entire country.The Belgian-Brazilian multinational beverage and brewing company, headquartered in Leuven, first introduced Stella's Cidre in 26 states last May. It will soon be available across all of the US in 4-packs, 24 oz. bottles as well as on draft.
“When we launched Stella Artois Cidre, we saw that the cider market in the US was poised for continued growth,” Chris Hanson, the brand manager for Cidre said in press release.
A-B InBev’s predictions became reality: off-premise dollar sales of cider grew over 100% last year, totaling over $212 million, according to Chicago-based research firm IRI. On-premise cider volumes grew last year as well, to the tune of 49%, according to a recent report from GuestMetrics.
Their continued foray into cider comes as the company’s two largest beer brands, Bud Light and Budweiser, continue to face weakening sales.
Despite surging growth in the category, cider represents less than 1% of the total U.S. beer market. However, it’s not the “typical beer drinker” that A-B InBev is targeting with Stella Cidre.
“We’re… going primarily for the white wine drinker,” Hanson said in a recent interview with CNBC. “The majority of our volume is coming outside of the traditional beer category, so it’s coming from ciders, wines and spirits.”
In related news, A-B InBev are reportedly in talks to buy one of China's largest beer factories, Siping Ginsber Draft Beer, for $630 million. Sources close to the company told Want China Times that negoitiations have been ongoing since September.
