Shoppers are increasingly buying less alcohol, but choosing better bottles when they do, and that shift is continuing to favour premium cider. Westons Cider says crafted cider is now the fastest-growing segment in impulse, with value up 23.9 per cent year on year, as consumers look for quality, provenance and a more authentic drinking experience.

Henry Westons Vintage sits at the centre of that trend. The brand says its 500ml glass bottle is the UK’s top-selling cider SKU, generating £59.1 million in annual sales, with more than one bottle sold every 0.81 seconds. The company also says its wider range is gaining traction, with the 6 x 500ml pack growing 7.2 per cent in grocery multiples and the 4 x 500ml pack rising 22.7 per cent in impulse, suggesting demand is broadening across both takeaway and sharing occasions.

Data in Westons’ 2026 report also point to the strength of premium cider in convenience. Better Retailing reported that Henry Westons Vintage 500ml is the channel’s best-selling cider, outselling the next nearest rival by more than twofold, while crafted cider grew 10.4 per cent in value. The same report said convenience now represents 51.7 per cent of total cider sales, up from 51.1 per cent a year earlier, underlining the channel’s growing importance for retailers looking to capitalise on premiumisation.

Richmond & Towers’ case study on the brand found that Henry Westons Vintage has expanded distribution by 3.3 percentage points over two years and is now stocked in more than three-quarters of convenience stores. It also reported a 27 per cent rise in value sales for the single-bottle SKU in convenience. Westons has separately said there is a £12 million opportunity in wholesale if the premium line is pushed more aggressively, with the brand already close to full supermarket coverage but still short of its potential in convenience and wholesale.

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