Heineken out to outfox opposition in cider battle

ORCHARD Thieves was always a strange hybrid. Brewed in Hereford in the UK, it was dreamed up by Heineken’s Irish marketing division to take on C&C, which owns market leader Bulmers.

It has enjoyed some considerable success. Recent reports from C&C have spoken about “the challenge of new entrants” on its home turf and it is adjusting its marketing accordingly.

Heineken tells me that the brand, and its fox logo, is now the fastest-growing cider brand in both the Irish on- and off-trade channels so far this year. It is shaping up to have a very good Christmas. It now accounts for 10.3pc of Ireland’s cider category, according to Nielsen. Not bad for a brand launched only last year.

It now appears that Heineken, which also owns Strongbow, believes the success of Orchard Thieves can be replicated elsewhere. Its edgy branding and use of social media hopes to attract a younger generation of cider drinkers.

On a recent trip to Amsterdam, I spotted some strikingly similar packaging to that of Orchard Thieves. The cider, known as ‘Apple Bandit’, also features the distinctive fox in its labels and promotional bumpf.

Heineken, which is of course Dutch, has apparently rolled out versions of Orchard Thieves in seven markets Each of these markets has a local interpretation of the brand name, but all with a similar look and feel and all featuring the fox .

In the Netherlands, Heineken has introduced two flavours under the brand, apple and pear, launching with the campaign #followthatfox to promote its introduction to the market earlier this year.

More variations of the original brand are coming on stream — Orchard Thieves Light was launched earlier this year.

It is perhaps no surprise that Sharon Walsh, the marketing director for Heineken Ireland recently moved to the role of director of global cider. According to Walsh, cider is the “second strategic pillar of the company” and Orchard Thieves clearly has a part to play. “It will take time and it’s not a shortterm play, but we do see cider really growing in the future and accounting for a much bigger slice of the overall pie in Heineken.”

Sounds like a cunning plan.