Comment: The great pear shortage

There's evidence that pear cider has taken over where the success of conventional apple left off. Asking for 'a pint of cider' in three venues last week produced on two occasions Bulmers Pear and on the other Brothers Pear.

Hardly a comprehensive survey, admittedly, but pear seems to have become the default cider for many pubs. Brand owners confirm it is a major seller.

The question is how retailers and suppliers respond to that shift in demand. With echoes of Magners' infamous shortfall in apples several summers ago, thirst for Bulmers Pear in June and July surprised Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) to the extent that it did not have enough of the liquid to go round (see News, page 6). Gaymer Cider Company has reported a year-on-year boost in production of 38 per cent, driven by its pear cider, among other brands.

Many believe the correct response is for pubs to offer a more diverse range. Magners has positioned itself as a 'one-stop shop' selling several cider varieties. A short-term promotion featuring long cider menus and large amounts of cider point-of-sale material operated by Mitchells & Butlers seems to have extended into more of a permanent initiative. And another cider producer recently met The Publican to muse over whether new product development would be better than concentrating spend on one or two core brands.

Achieve a balance. Pubs offering consumers more than a single apple cider is good, but present them with too many flavours and confusion will reign as it did in the RTD category - to which flavoured cider is so often compared. Fostering a fickle consumer base which changes as often as the wind also produces problems for the trade in keeping up - as the S&N situation proved.