Westons raises cider brand from the grave

Westons Cider is resurrecting a Gloucestershire cider brand today, with the re-launch taking place at the site where the last keg to be produced was buried during a ceremony in 2010.

Gold Label Cider, known by locals as GL or Gloucester Lager, originally belonged to the Gloucester Cider Company, which was bought by Bulmers in 1948. In 2010, Heineken-owned Bulmers decided to retire the brand, which had been widely distributed in pubs around the three counties region of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.

Now Herefordshire-based cider producer Westons has bought the brand from Heineken, with the first pint due to be pulled today at The Royal Foresters pub in Cinderford, where the original GL grave was laid.

The revived GL uses the original recipe and is a medium sweet, 4% abv cider. Westons has added a “contemporary twist” to the branding and will make the product available in pubs around the three counties region.

Commenting on the relaunch, Geoff Bradman, head of UK sales at Westons Cider, said: “We have great pleasure in restoring this iconic cider to its former greatness. GL has been an important part of the regional culture in the three counties and we’re proud to bring it back to those that like to call it their own.”

The move marks the latest step forward amid a flurry of growth and activity within the global cider category. Just two weeks ago Westons completed its purchase of Australian distributor World Brand Australia to help it capitalise on the 42.8% volume growth cider has enjoyed in this market during the last year.

In the UK, on-trade data specialist CGA Strategy reported a 9% on-trade volume increase in cider sales across the UK within the last two years, driven by fruit ciders which have seen “exponential growth of nearly 250% in the past two years.”

That growth may well have been adversely affected by the UK’s poor summer weather, with Magners’ owner C&C blaming this on an 18.6% volume decline. However, the company pointed to a 16% volume uplift in the US this year as it announced a plan to acquire US firm Vermont Hard Cider.