Siba urges Punch to join cask scheme

Small brewers are calling on Britain's biggest pub operator Punch to commit itself to the independent sector by joining the industry's highly-successful direct delivery scheme (DDS).

Society of Independent Brewers Association (Siba) marketing chairman David Grant believes Punch and other big pubcos are missing a big sales opportunity by ignoring the scheme.

Grant made his call as the results of a Siba survey showed that DDS had fuelled a significant growth in cask-ale sales. More than 70% of licensees said the scheme has helped grow sales, with 42% ordering between two and five different Siba beers each week.

A significant 80% of those questioned feared they would lose sales without the scheme and 44% said the drop would be dramatic.

Grant said: "These figures underline the success of DDS and it is clear many licensees are growing their cask-ale business as a result."

Punch Taverns says it already offers a comprehensive portfolio of cask ales to its retailers through its existing depot network, plus a Finest Cask scheme for those who wanted a wider range.

Director of marketing Geoff Brown revealed Finest Cask had 900 members and featured more than 60 different beers each year. "We do make very limited use of the Siba direct-delivery scheme for specialist small-batch requirements, but we have no current plans to expand its use," he said.

"Cask-ale sales are in significant growth across our estate due to the favourable marketing environment and the fact that we have worked hard with a core number of brands."