Cider here, cider there, cider everywhere

Cider is a big thing in my house around Christmas as is egg nog. This is not only the case here but in other homes.

It seems though, that in Australia we have been getting into the cider swing much earlier than Christmas this year.

A Market Insight report from the marketing research organisation, Canadean, has found that Australia and New Zealand are having a love affair with cider and the region has had the highest growth in sales globally in 2012.

The research found that whereas the New Zealand market is favouring domestic brands, the Australian market is trying a bit of everything. There is some belief that this may be due to a reduced tax on ciders compared to that on the flavoured alcoholic beverages (the so called Alcopops).

Traditionally cider was considered a beverage for older drinkers, it is now being slowly moved into a more premium market. This trend started in the early 2000s and is seems to have consolidated but there is a lot of vibrancy in the two markets.

There are new flavours appearing regularly and the world seems set for an increase in cider sales with Australia and New Zealand leading the way. Who knows if cider will eventually really challenge beer in Australia, but the future will show us.

This article has been written by Rachelle Williams, The Green Food Safety Coach.