C-Store Cider Sales Thrive This Year

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While alcohol has generally been in the red in most retail channels this year, cider sales in convenience stores offer a rare bright spot. Both dollar sales (+4.8%) and volume (+3.4%) are well above the negative trend lines for craft, seltzers, domestics, and even imports in Circana-tracked c-store data.

What explains the boom? Cider has finally arrived at the imperial party. In January, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approved new standards of fill for higher-ABV cider that included 16 oz. and 19.2 oz cans. Prior to that update, those can sizes were only an option for cider under 7% ABV, excluding higher-strength cider from the single-serve can sizes that have proven so successful for imperial IPAs and high-gravity FMBs. At the time of the announcement, Jeff Parrish, co-owner of Oregon’s Portland Cider Company, called the move “a game changer,” and year-to-date sales confirm it.

But imperial cider in 19.2 oz. cans isn’t the only story line. Convenience stores’ craft beer SKU rationalization over the past year has also opened up space for higher-margin cider. And finally, cider enjoys crossover appeal with the popular RTD cocktail category—yet it may be available in c-stores where distilled spirits aren’t legally allowed. All of this presents a long runway for cider, which has yet to post numbers for October (National Cider Month), November (Thanksgiving), and December (Christmas and New Year’s Eve). We’d expect it to take an even bigger bite of the c-store apple in those final 2025 months.