If you think about the UK’s top three summer’s day moments, surely beers in a buzzing pub garden has to be up there, right? 

Well, if you agree, you probably won’t be surprised that the UK beer production industry recorded a whopping £9.7bn revenue in 2023, growing by 12.9% within the year.1 That’s gallons of beer, and heaps of demand from thirsty Brits! A real growth opportunity for both the bigger brands and newcomers doing things differently… 

On the scene since 2022, you wouldn’t call PRIME TIME Lager a complete newcomer – but these guys certainly seized a prime opportunity while it was hot. Trying to find the perfect balance between their love of fitness and a few good beers, its founders set about creating ‘the perfect love child’… Solving their own problem and carving out their own niche.  

By challenging the idea that delicious beer’s always packed with calories and gluten, PRIME TIME’s turning heads – and not just those of your average beer drinker. You’ll even find caffeine in one of its beers to counteract the low of alcohol – something we’d all give a try!  

While scoping out the latest trends at Taste of London food festival, we bumped into Connor Wells, PRIME TIME’s Managing Director. Over a pint at the PRIME TIME bar, we chatted about cracking the code with the brand’s formula, finding its ‘sweet spot’, and an upcoming collab dropping later this year…   

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What makes PRIME TIME Lager different from other alternative beer? 

Connor: “It’s a low-calorie, low-carb lager. But first and foremost, it tastes incredible. I think a lot of people look at low-calorie, low-carb, and gluten-free and assume they’re going to taste bad. But our point of difference is that it’s genuinely great-tasting beer.  

“At only 95 calories per can of lager – 30% fewer calories than your average beer and 63% fewer carbohydrates, we’re also a gluten free beer. Whether you’re conscious of the waistline, out with friends wanting to have a good time or you’re after a delicious, sessionable lager – why wouldn’t you drink a PRIME TIME? We really feel we’ve cracked the code on this one!”

CRACKED’S VIEW: Two-thirds of Brits are aware of low-calorie beer options (and nine out of 10 would give them a try). On top of that, 45% are also aware of the gluten-free options out there.2 For us, it’s all about keeping a great taste while offering other benefits. So as long as PRIME TIME continues to nail that, we reckon it’ll continue being a hit! 

Have you found that your target audience is slightly different from traditional beer drinkers? 

Connor: “PRIME TIME’s not an alternative beer, or a low-alcohol beer which you have once or twice in a blue moon. You can drink it wherever you go, no matter where you are.  

Prime Time Lager Logo scaled

“If you look at our audience demographic, our sweet spot is within that 24-to-35-year-old age range which is very normal for a beer brand like Prime Time. What’s interesting, is that we do also appeal to the mature beer drinkers, as well as over-indexing when it comes to female beer drinkers. We’re an inclusive beer, and this was also what we set out to achieve.” 

CRACKED’S VIEW: Research by Heineken has found that Gen Z’s alcohol consumption dropped by 25% between 2019-2023. And in the UK specifically, only 8% of young adults drink at least once a week.3 So we’re seeing that younger generations are still drinking, but are doing it more mindfully, with a focus on physical and mental health. And it’s great to see products that are enjoyable to drink and help people stay on track with their goals. 

How are you working on getting the PRIME TIME name out there? 

Connor: “We’re a Southwest London brand, so naturally, that’s very much our epicentre. This is an excellent area for us, but we’re also broadening our scope. We now have account managers across London, and 350 London doors [stocking PRIME TIME]. We have secured 22 festivals across the summer season and will launch across 80% of all Waitrose stores nationwide from October 7th.”

“In terms of our demographic, our core target is ABC1s, males and females – but beyond this, just people going out to have a good time. We’re very much a social brand at heart, and we’ve got a great bunch of loyal PRIME TIME drinkers who follow our every step, which is amazing.” 

CRACKED’S VIEW: With middle-aged males often representing the lion’s share of demand for beer brands, it’s refreshing to hear brands like PRIME TIME see women and older demographics as equally important, appealing to them through diverse marketing strategies. And in terms of product range, PRIME TIME LAGER, LAGER+ (with caffeine), and PRIME TIME IPA all offer something for everyone.

What’s next for PRIME TIME? 

Connor: “Where do I begin? First, the fundamentals. Ensuring our revenue streams are robust and seizing opportunities that align with our brand’s strategic direction. We’re all very excited back at HQ to be launching our first nationwide retailer partnership and a high impact, above the line campaign, as well as our very first crowdfund that will be announced soon. This is a giant step for us. Our innovation pipeline is equally exciting, as are the talented individuals set to join our journey. From strategic investors to potential brand ambassadors. In 2025, we’re focussed on amplifying our brand’s visibility and accelerating performance across our trade channels.“

CRACKED’S VIEW: We’re officially intrigued! We can’t wait to find out who PRIME TIME’s mystery partner is and see it on the retails shelves soon! And with alcohol brands joining forces with all kinds of celebs and influencers, it’s certainly a savvy strategy to capture attention and create intrigue on socials and beyond. 

As a David in a world of Goliaths, it’s easy to see why PRIME TIME is hyper-focused on mastering its marketing strategy and branding. Our Senior Designer, Nicole, shared some thoughts from the Cracked Studio team on it:   

“PRIME TIME’s lead colour (blue) has been used within drinks branding more and more over recent years to represent the ‘no’ or ‘low’ alcohol content options. So, it makes perfect sense that a brand with low calories would opt for the same colour – hinting that it’s not your standard lager! Overall, we’re loving the simplicity of the brand, from the clean and bold word mark for the logo to the minimal approach to packaging.” 

We also love that the target audience goes beyond your typical middle-aged male, and they’re over-indexing with females. Because why can’t young women love beer too?!  

And talking of different audiences, we couldn’t name another beer brand directly targeting athletes! Could you? Pitching up at sporting events like polo matches is yet another savvy marketing move we reckon will pay off sharpish.  

As a relatively new beer brand on the scene, we think PRIME TIME’s onto something special… Doing things differently from other brands by building beers around people’s low-carb, low-cal and gluten-free lifestyles – without compromising on flavour. We’ll be curiously waiting to see what new flavours and collabs the next five years will bring…