There’s a sense of déjà brew when one looks at the trajectory of the cider category: the sweeter stuff has entered a period of weak performance – some even project negative growth – all thanks to the brands on the macro side of the business. It wasn’t always this way. Cider began a steep climb around 2010, when it started posting double-digit volume growth. Sales accelerated for the next few years and increased, on average, nearly 70 percent annually from 2012 to 2014, according to figures provided by the United States Association of Cider Makers (USACM). However, the momentum slowed considerably in 2015 when the volume gain was just over 11 percent.