On-trade grows 1.3%
2016 also saw the total on-trade channel return to growth, up 1.3% in volume following a 0.6% decline in 2015.
Volume in the off-trade channel grew 1.9%, with value growth ahead at 2.7%. This follows a 2.1% return to volume growth in the off-trade in 2015 following a 4% decline in 2014.
Within the LAD category itself, beer market volumes grew by 1.5% on top of a 0.4% rise in volumes in 2015 after a disappointing 0.3% decline in 2014.
Heineken Ireland’s share grew in both the on- and off-trade channels as did the Heineken brand, supported by the successful introduction of Heineken Light.
Following a decline in 2015 of 3.3%, the Cider category returned to growth of 6.5% driven by good weather over the Summer months as well as a strong performance by Orchard Thieves which has re-invigorated the category.
Heineken Ireland’s share of the total cider market nearly doubled to 11.2% from 5.4%, driven by Orchard Thieves, now the number 2 cider brand in the marketplace in both channels, according to Heineken Ireland, commanding 10.3% of the Total Cider Market, up from 4.3% in 2015.
2016 was another year of share growth for Coors Light (up 0.4%), maintaining its position as the No 1 bottled beer in the on-trade.
Like-for-like revenues at Heineken Ireland increased by 4% to €533 million reflecting the change in its wholesale business model.
Parent company Heineken nv’s results showed organic revenues up by 4.8% to €20.8 billion from €20.5 billion, producing a 9.9% increase in Operating Profit to €3.54 billion with a 3% increase in beer volumes, up from 2015’s 2.3% organic figure.