Business Change

We preach and teach “change” 24/7. The old slogan ” The sign of (business) madness is doing the same thing each day but expecting something to change” – still hits the nail.

We know that many times it’s hard to stop what you’re doing and go down a completely different path. If you have money in the business, it can be scary. But, in this last year or so we’ve seen many small business owners put their thinking caps on, do some research and attack slightly new market areas and many times it’s paid off. 

Sometimes, it’s just rebranding what you already have and there’s no better example of this than the perry/ pear cider story.

A few years ago, the drink known as “perry” was decidedly unfashionable. Most folk shunned it as they weren’t sure exactly what it was. But the renaming to “pear cider” seems to have paid off and how!

Two years ago, Britons spent a modest £3.4m on the cider. In 2008 the number leapt to £46m. The rate of growth is remarkable for a drink that was once practically extinct.

Perry was known as a “yokel” drink favoured by people living in farming communities, says Ian Targett, beer and cider buyer for the supermarket chain Tesco.

“It was seen as the farmer’s secret and years ago it was not unheard of for apple growers to keep a corner of a field to grow some perry pears – which they would then make and keep for themselves,” he says.

Traditionally, true perry comes only from perry pears, which are smaller and more acidic than other types. The new pear cider is usually made with a slightly sweeter variety, but the two terms are largely used interchangeably.

Branded perries like Babycham, which had its popularity peak in the 1970s, were sold as cheap, bubbly drinks targeted to women, Mr Targett says.  (Anyone remember the famous little Babycham bottles?)

Brothers Cider company started selling perry at the Glastonbury Festival in 1995. No one knew what, exactly, they were being offered, says Matthew Langley, consumer marketing manager for the company.

“We said perry was like cider, but made from pears,” he says. “By the end of the festival, it was shortened to pear cider.”

After 10 years at Glastonbury, Brothers launched it products – now officially called cider – to a wider audience in 2005, riding the momentum of a larger apple cider revival, primarily led by the Magners brand.

But as the apple craze has settled, pear has became a natural extension and the figures certainly speak for themselves. £3.4 million to £46 million in two years…incredible!

So, it poses the question – is there any part of your product range that you can sell in a slightly different way / rebrand / repackage / change ??

We’re back with that word again….