Ireland: Heineken axes Island’s Edge stout due to little demand

Island’s Edge stout has been axed by Heineken Ireland, according to a report in The Irish Times.

Heineken Ireland is understood to have ceased selling Island's Edge to publicans, who say there was little demand for the stout that was launched just over two years ago.

The report on Thursday comes just a few months after the Business Post found that Island's Edge had been "delisted" by many pubs across Ireland "amid low sales," with some citing Heineken's recent price increases as a deterrent.

“I am not surprised," Donal O’Keefe, chief executive of the Licensed Vinster Association, told the Business Post on Thursday. "It didn’t sell very well.”

Heineken Ireland has not issued a public statement regarding the fate of Island's Edge.

The social media accounts for Island's Edge have shown no activity since this past May, further evidence that the Irish stout is being wound down. Additionally, the 'find a bar' tool on the Island's Edge website is no longer live.

The latest Island's Edge social media posts show a collaboration with the Irish podcast duo The 2 Johnnies, who were brought aboard after humorously questioning the logic behind introducing a new stout in Ireland.

Rolled out in 2021, Island's Edge was initially marketed as "unexpectedly refreshing" before focusing on being "less bitter" than the "market leader."

The Business Post notes that the 4.0% ABV Island's Edge, which featured tea and basil extracts, was marketed toward 18 - 35-year-olds who didn't traditionally drink stout.

Heineken Ireland had big plans to position Island's Edge as a competitor to Guinness.

“There is one dominant player, and of course, we want to take our fair share and invest heavily in it,” Paula Conlon, Heineken’s head of flavoured alcoholic beverages and stout, said, according to the Business Post.

“If I was pushed [on market share], we would definitely be looking at north of 10 per cent – and that’s probably conservative.”

While it appears the big hopes for Island's Edge have run dry, Heineken Ireland has a number of other popular brands still available in the Emerald Isle, including Beamish and Murphy's, both of which are brewed in Co Cork.

02 November, 2023