Although the craft movement has put a spotlight on the craft beer and spirits markets, the craft hard cider market is the segment blossoming at this moment.
“Hard cider occupies a slightly different place than traditional beer or craft beer for several reasons,” says Chris Lombardo, team lead and senior analyst for New York-based IBISWorld. “Unlike craft beer, the hard cider segment was not approaching saturation prior to the pandemic. Hard cider producers are far less reliant on on-premise sales than craft or traditional breweries, and new product variants are constantly being introduced to the segment. As a result, hard cider is expected to perform better than beer during the pandemic.”