Badger Beer rebrands core range

Badger Beer, one of the oldest UK ale producers, has rebranded its core range reducing it from 12 down to six in response to the craft beer movement.

Founded 240 years ago in Dorset and owned by Hall & Woodhouse, Badger Beer is stocked in all major UK supermarkets and has a rising popularity in China, US and Canada.

Gwendolin Ridsdale, head of beer marketing at Hall & Woodhouse, said: “This is the most significant rebrand in the history of Badger and although we have reduced the number of beers we offer, the range still ticks every box for our consumers.”

Badger Beer is more popular in the off-trade, having made the decision not to enter the free-trade and focus on its significant distribution channels throughout the UK.

Ridsdale added: “The craft beer movement has helped us because it our brand has strong provenance and history, whilst our ales provide the rich, fuller tastes consumers are looking for.

“We own 200 outlets in the south of England which act as our on-trade market. I read an article that said 70% of traditional ale drinkers in the UK have been served bad beer in the on-trade, so by using our own premises we can ensure we serve our beers to the highest quality.”

Ridsdale blamed the amount of poor quality serves on the overwhelming amount of choice demanded by consumer, putting pressure on the on-trade sector.

She added: “This is why it makes sense for us to focus on our six core beers and having invested more than £1m in communications, we hope to build their presence in line with current trends.”