Across The Bar

WHETHER A major national pubco or an innovative regional operator, it is the pubs themselves who are really at the sharp end when it comes to feeling the ebbs and flows of the lager market. A selection of retailers share their experiences of the pub trade's most crucial product…

Myles Doran, Barracuda Group, marketing manager​

The ongoing extra cold revolution has been the driving force to reinvigorate standard lager - it is an innovation the category badly needed, according to Myles.

"Premium has suffered at the expense of standard lately," he says. "Standard has come back with gusto, principally through Carling and Foster's, while Stella Artois has suffered."

Changing tastes among consumers have made temperature for standard lager more of a selling point than strength for premium lager.

"People will forego strength for refreshment," Myles says.

Barracuda sees hope for premium in the innovation found in European products, with Myles pointing to InBev's efforts to foster a European portfolio with its Stella Artois brand extensions (see page 48), and also to the success of Czech brand Staropramen.

In standard lager, Foster's has "just got the edge on Carling in a battle that ebbs and flows like the Coca-Cola and Pepsi wars", he adds.

He believes there are two options for success with draught lager.

Myles says: "If it's standard, it needs to be super chilled or extra cold. The alternative, for premium, is to be European."

Geoff Brown, Punch Taverns, director of marketing​

Punch has just signed an agreement to expand the distribution of Foster's and make it available to its entire estate. This again points to the Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) brand gaining share from other giants in standard lager.

There has been much talk in the industry of mounting problems for Carlsberg, for example. While Carlsberg itself was unavailable for comment, Geoff explains how the brand has faced challenging times in recent years: "Carlsberg had been struggling for market position. It had not received as much market support as others."

However, he believes it has been resurgent since a successful campaign during the football World Cup last year. But the growth enjoyed by Foster's, as alluded to by Punch and Barracuda, illustrates the tough competition Carlsberg is facing.

Geoff believes that range is the key to pubs finding success with lager.

He says: "Our view is that the way forward is to give your customers more choice than they have had traditionally. Whenever we add one extra lager to our pub, overall volumes increase."

Tony Brookes, Head of Steam Pub Company, managing director​

Five-site pub company Head of Steam does a good trade in speciality lagers, but its managing director says the over riding trend he has noticed is that sales of standard lager are increasing, while those of premium lager are decreasing.

Tony blames this trend on brewers allowing their brands to be sold at bargain basement prices in the off-trade.

This devalues brands which may otherwise be perceived by pub customers as worthy of the £3 price tag.

"Of course customers will turn to cheaper lagers in pubs if they find premium lagers, which they can buy for 50p a bottle in supermarkets, at over £2," Tony points out.

Those premium brands that have not stooped to lower supermarket pricing are, in turn, the successful ones in pubs he adds.

"You can't go into a supermarket and buy a bottle of Budvar for 50p," Tony explains, "so people think a pint of it is good value for money."