Trading up on cider in time for the summer months
OFF-TRADE giant Heineken UK has launched its new premium cider variant for the Inch’s Cider brand with the new Reserve variant.
Available in a 500ml bottle from 15 March, the new Inch’s Reserve premium apple cider offers consumers a fuller-bodied 7.4% ABV cider drink across the grocery, convenience and wholesale channels. Each 500ml bottle comes with an RRP of £2.80.
Heineken reckons there is a strong opportunity for premium-end strong cider variants in the UK off-trade at the moment and cited Nielsen data for 2025 which found that the segment was the second largest in total cider with a value of £195million.
With this in mind, the drinks giant said that the new Inch’s Reserve will provide retailers with a strong opportunity to further strengthen this category across the convenience channel.
Max Wainwright, cider brand director at Heineken UK, said: “We want to challenge category norms with the launch of Inch’s Reserve and bring modernity to the premium apple cider category, attracting younger affluent shoppers to this segment.
“When creating Inch’s Reserve, our Herefordshire cider makers have retained the recognisable apple-y flavour we know shoppers love from Inch’s, the fastest growing cider brand in the Off-Trade.
“Ultimately our aim is to help retailers unlock growth opportunities and drive basket spend, and we’re confident that our first move into the premium apple cider segment will support this.”
