Welcome to the Brands Report

ClubMirror Brands Report

Analysing recent trends in the on trade has never been more difficult. Or to coin a phrase,

‘Prediction is very difficult, especially if it is about the future’ . Nonetheless, CGA has continued to research the market over the past 18-months and, as always, share their findings on the club market with ClubMirror. CGA’s

Mark Newton and consultant Ashley Cairns report.

There are many issues which have been impacting the on trade in recent history. This includes the UK leaving the EU, the Covid-19 pandemic and now of course the Omicron variant. But saying that is stating the obvious. Perhaps more concerning are the specific issues that have significant consequences for clubs and the broader on trade.

Costs are rising across the whole of the trade spectrum. Some customers are still to return (although these appear to be quite a small proportion of the total customer base). On-going staff shortages are impacting the capability for plenty of premises, as well as the supply chain - particularly driver shortages. There are also production constraints, such as packaging unavailability and CO2 gasshortages.Theimpactofenergycostsalsocannot be ignored.

On the positive side, there is the pent up demand for entertainment, meeting and socialising. Added to this the restriction on travel has undoubtedly helped with the ‘Staycation ’ and UKbased holidays pushing up demand.

So,regardingthefuture,therewouldseemtobe plenty of bumps in the road to come. The best advice is that it is sage to deal with each difficulty as they arise by assessing them and to form an action plan to at least mitigate their impact on the wider business.

Opportunities will also arise, so again be prepared to exploit these profitably. (And it should come as no surprise that club committees around the country are working even harder now than ever before.)

Background

Thisyear ’ sBrandsReportisslightlychangedfromthe traditionalClubMirrorformat.Itreportsontheleading brands across 11 product categories, identifying the Top 5, followed by other leading brands in the category.

These are the 11 categories:

1. Draught Lagers 2. Draught Ales and Stout 3. Cider and Perry 4. Packaged Beers, Ciders and RTDs 5. Dark Spirits 6. White Spirits 7. Fortified Wines and Vermouth 8. Liqueurs and Specialities 9. Wine – Still and Sparkling 10. Non-alcoholic Beers 11. Soft Drinks Onethingthatwecanbeassuredofisthattheconstant change in circumstances will lead to new challenges and opportunities. Whilst the on trade has a long established order, it is not insulated from change, and, while there will always be revered club stalwarts, if we look at the Clubland market 10 and 20 years ago, it is undoubtedly true that there have substantial changes. In the box below are some famous brands that do not appear in this year ’ s report, either because they no longer command the same level of popularity at the club bar or have ceased production altogether .

Allbright Bitter Ansells Bitter Castaway IPA Castlemaine XXXX Courage Best Bitter Federation Pale Ale Greenall’ s Original Holsten Pils Labbatt’ s Löwenbräu McEwan ’ s Lager Red Card Ale Samson Skol Tankard Teachers Toby Bitter Trophy Bitter Two Dogs Woodpecker