Waitrose has become the first supermarket to back a nationwide campaign to promote beer from independent breweries.
The retailer is to introduce a new ‘Indie Beer’ section online and will feature in-store promotions aimed at growing sales from truly independent brewers as part of Indie Beer Week – organised by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) – between 10-19 April.
It comes after Waitrose overhauled its beer and cider offer in autumn, adding craft beers from new independent suppliers including Burning Sky, The Kernel and Tap Social.
“Our beer-loving customers are always looking for new beers from innovative, high-quality, and exciting independent breweries, and this signposting allows us to champion those producers who do it so well,” said Waitrose Beer and cider buyer Jourdan Gabbini. “I am proud to continually provide our customers with refreshing, modern options in our beers range at Waitrose while also supporting genuine British independent breweries.”
Indie Beer campaign co-ordinator Neil Walker praised Waitrose for its commitment to supporting independent brewers.
“Not only have they extended the number of local independent breweries that they sell, with a focus on quality and flavour, but the dedicated Indie Beer section of the Waitrose website makes it crystal clear to shoppers the beer they’re buying is the real deal,” he said.
Consumer confusion
The Indie Beer campaign was launched by SIBA in October 2024, after YouGov polling showed widespread consumer confusion over which craft beers on sale in the UK were genuinely independent and not made by multinational brewers.
In the YouGov survey, consumers were shown images of five beers from once-independent breweries bought out by global beer companies: Beavertown Neck Oil (Heineken), Fuller’s London Pride (Asahi), Camden Hells (Budweiser Brewing Group), Brixton Reliance Pale Ale (Heineken), and Sharp’s Doom Bar (Molson Coors).
As many as 40% of respondents thought Beavertown was an independent brewer – meaning the Heineken-owned brand gained a higher percentage than genuinely independent breweries such as Vocation, Fyne Ales and Five Points.
When told about the ownership of the brands they believed to be craft, three-quarters of those surveyed said they felt consumers were being misled.
Indie Beer explained
In response, SIBA launched its Indie Beer mark for independent brewers to use on pack to stand out from multinational competitors.
“Unlike ‘craft beer’, which is a term used to describe a huge range of beers including some which are actually made by global companies such as Budweiser and Heineken, there are clear rules around which breweries can and can’t be defined as ‘Indie Beer’,” Walker said. “Just like the Red Tractor symbol on produce or the British Lion mark on eggs, consumers can be confident when they see the Indie Beer mark they are buying beer from a true independent brewery.”
Some 700 UK breweries have thrown their weight behind the Indie Beer campaign, according to SIBA, although less than half of this number are currently using the logo on their packaing.
Despite the initiative, independent breweries in the UK are still closing at an alarming rate, with SIBA’s UK Brewery Tracker showing a 37% increase in closures in the year to the start of January 2026.
The UK now had just 1,578 breweries as of the beginning of the year, compared to 1,715 at the start of 2025, the latest figures showed.
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