How many more cider brands for Lion?
Looks like Lion’s cider portfolio is getting rather bloated. Australia’s number one brewer Lion, owned by Japan’s Kirin, has quite a few cider brands under its belt. Its first cider brand was launched in Australia in 2009: Tooheys Extra Dry 5 Seeds. Its craft trademark, James Squire, has also innovated in cider with the James Squire Orchard Crush range. With the full takeover of the Little Creatures brewers, Lion inherited their Pipsqueak Cider range.
In October 2013 it was announced that four new ciders, developed by Kirin Japan, have been introduced by Lion to the Australian market. They are infused with Japanese inspired flavours: Fuji Apple, Fuji Apple & Mikan (Japanese for Mandarin), Fuji Apple & Ume (A Japanese Plum) and Fuji Apple & Ginger.
But not enough, as of January 2014 Lion will also distribute Irish C&C’s brand Magners through its joint venture with Bacardi, unimaginatively called Lion Bacardi. As is symptomatic of the hotly competitive Australian alcohol market, brands have often changed hands. Magners used to be distributed in Australia by Suntory, who launched Magners into the Australian market in 2004 and has built the brand over the last nine years into one of the country's leading cider brands. However, the agreement came to an end in July this year – though amicably as Suntory was quoted as saying at the time.
Lion’s rival CUB (owned by SABMiller), from October this year, has been distributing Kopparberg cider in Australia as part of a broader deal between SABMiller and Kopparberg, announced earlier this year. Previously, Kopparberg cider was distributed by the retailer Woolworths in an exclusive deal. CUB already has the distribution rights to the cider brands Strongbow, Mercury and Bulmers.
Not to be outdone, Diageo Australia in 2012 took on the marketing and distribution of Rochdale Traditional Apple Cider, a craft cider produced by McCashin's Brewery in Nelson, New Zealand, while Danish brewer Carlsberg launched its Somersby brand of cider in partnership with Independent Distillers Australia (owned by Japan’s Asahi).
Liquor shops’ shelves are groaning under the weight of ciders. Insiders reckon that there about 17 umbrella brands plus dozens of smaller domestic and imported cider brands currently available in Australia.
That may have been the reason why Coopers Brewery from Adelaide has proven reluctant to enter this segment. But at the end of August 2013, Coopers Brewery announced it would soon begin importing an as yet unnamed cider brand to Australia, indicating that chairman and cider sceptic Glenn Cooper has finally caved in to internal lobbying to get a cider on the market.
