The new man at Magners

Magners wants to hold its hands up.

One of the most fascinating stories in recent drinks brand history, it has been criticised for lack of innovation compared with competitors since its launch.

While apologists might get hazy-eyed remembering the glorious summer of 2006 and blame poorer weather for Magners' subsequent downturn, new Magners GB managing director John Holberry is not among them.

"We haven't been as innovative as we might have been," he admits.

"It's time to listen to customers. They won't allow us to grow further unless we take into consideration what they think. We've stopped surprising them - we've got to do some new stuff."

However, Magners has not exactly been sluggish with "new stuff" since Holberry arrived. It launched a draught version in May, low calorie Light in April, and a PET bottle recently.

Its latest attempt at innovation is lower-ABV product Magners Mid Strength - which will, controversially from the on-trade's viewpoint, be launched in Tesco next month. There are at present no plans for an on-trade launch.

Though Holberry says "we believe that on-trade is primary and off-trade is secondary", launching a new product via Tesco would seem to undermine that. Holberry is refreshingly candid about the product. "I think we have to be quite moderate with our expectations with this one," he says. "We're not as convinced about this as our other products - it's new territory. We'd like to test the water."

Magners justifies the strategy by arguing that Mid Strength marks cider's first ever low-ABV entry and that it is too early to introduce such an ambitious product to pubs.

Having talked of the lack of "new stuff" from Magners, and defended the off-trade seemingly getting first dibs on Mid Strength, Holberry plays up Magners' role in leading pubs' cider sales. He points to Magners investing £13.3m in marketing over the past year, whereas Bulmers and Strongbow each invested £3.8m.

He believes this above-the-line advertising has had a direct impact on the category's performance. To a backdrop of poor trading conditions throughout the pub trade, the value of cider sales in the on-trade grew by three per cent in the year to May, according to Nielsen.

Refusing to launch 'me too' products (Magners will never make cider with anything but apples, swears Holberry) will help grow the category, he says. As the brand credited with bringing about cider's resurgence, it doesn't want to be seen to worry about the bandwagon-jumping some attribute to competitor brands.

These brands' moves into blueberry and pear ciders only serve to make Magners' apple tradition more valuable, Holberry says.

The new man at the helm is excited about what lies ahead. "I came here in March and, four months on, all the reasons that I came here are still valid," he says. "My job is to set [our problems] right and to bring some new stuff to market."