Heineken UK advises wholesalers on premium lager sales

Heineken UK has released the third edition of its series of industry reports, Shelf Talk, this time focusing on the premium lager category.

A resource for wholesalers, Shelf Talk offers insight into the category, as well as advice on how the off-trade can achieve further growth.

In the build-up to winter, there are huge sales opportunities available for wholesalers through occasions such as the Big Night In, says Heineken. More prominent this time of year, these occasions will deliver further growth in the premium lager category as consumers look to recreate premium experiences at home more frequently.

With the premium lager category worth £783 million in the off-trade, gaining 154,000 shoppers year on year (Nielsen), Shelf Talk has been created to highlight what consumers are looking for and what wholesalers should be capitalising on, for 2019 and beyond as the category continues to grow.

With four Heineken brands in the Top 10 fastest growing premium lagers (Birra Moretti, Desperados, Red Stripe, and Sol), the third edition of Shelf Talk highlights other key players driving the category forward, explores how and why the premium lager category has grown at a rate three times faster than total lager (+9.1%) (Nielsen), and touches on how merchandising beers that are great with food will see an uplift in sales.

Finally, providing a deeper insight into the trends across the premium lager category, the third edition of Shelf Talk features an interview with Melissa Cole, an award-winning UK food and beer writer. Cole discusses the latest innovations in the category as well as offering advice on how retailers and wholesalers can boost opportunities to trade up and cater to a more experimental, younger generation of shoppers.

Toby Lancaster, category and shopper marketing director at Heineken UK, comments: “The premium lager category is a huge source of value for the off-trade, especially towards the end of the year. That’s why we created our third edition of Shelf Talk to focus on the premium lager category. As consumers start to opt to stay in more frequently, trading up to premium products in the process, it is essential that wholesalers know how to merchandise their range to appeal to what retailer needs and maximise their sales during the winter months and beyond.”

To download the Premium Lager Shelf Talk report, please visit: https://www.starretailer.co.uk/-/media/project/star-retailer/documents/2308—shelftalk-premium-beer_8_spreads.pdf?la=en&hash=F650B98C6A697F8E1B2203D483C04AEC7D3E6891