Household Ingredients Compared › Cider (Singapore)

Cider: what's actually in it?

Cider sold in Singapore is mostly two brands — Somersby (Carlsberg) and Strongbow (Heineken) — plus a long tail of imported ciders. The lists follow two patterns. Traditional cider (Strongbow Original, Cloudy Apple) is water, apple juice from concentrate, sugar, malic acid and sodium metabisulphite — five items. Flavoured cider (Somersby Apple, Strongbow Dark Fruit, Strawberry) adds fruit juice, flavouring, colour and preservatives, and Somersby's list is built on "apple wine" (fermented apple juice) rather than plain apple juice. This page keeps the two patterns separate and flavours as separate rows, because the sweetener, colour and preservative entries differ by flavour.

This page does not give a health score or a "best" pick. It shows the ingredient list as printed and flags what to notice.

The headline, in 30 seconds

Strongbow Original is five ingredients. Water, apple juice (from concentrate), sugar, acid (malic acid), antioxidant (sodium metabisulphite) — per UK retailer listings, flagged non-SG. No artificial flavours, sweeteners or colours, per the brand.
Somersby Apple is built on apple wine. Water, apple wine (water, sugar, apple juice concentrate), sugar, apple juice concentrate, carbon dioxide, acid (citric acid), natural flavouring, preservative (potassium sorbate), colour (ammonia caramel) — per Carlsberg Malaysia/Group lists, flagged regional. Sugars 8.1 g per 100 ml.
Strongbow Dark Fruit adds blackcurrant and blackberry. Water, apple juice from concentrate, sugar, blackcurrant and blackberry juice from concentrate, malic acid, colouring food (concentrate from carrot), natural flavouring — no sodium metabisulphite listed in the ASDA entry, unlike the Original.
Strongbow Gold Apple (US) is a different recipe from Strongbow Original (UK). The US list starts with hard cider (fermented apple juice from concentrate and glucose syrup) and adds glucose-fructose syrup and caramel colour. Same brand, different market, different list — flagged, not merged.
Somersby 0.0% is a separate row. Water, sugar, non-alcoholic fermented apple juice, apple juice concentrate, carbon dioxide, natural flavouring, citric acid, ammonia caramel, potassium sorbate — sugars 8.4 g per 100 ml, slightly higher than the alcoholic version's 8.1 g.

At a glance

Product	Group	First ingredient	Flag to notice	Pack size (as printed)	Country of manufacture (as printed)
Somersby Apple Cider	Apple cider	Water	Apple wine base; sugars 8.1 g / 100 ml	330 ml	not stated
Somersby Apple Cider 0.0%	Alcohol-free cider	Water	Non-alcoholic fermented apple juice; 8.4 g sugars	not stated	not stated
Strongbow Original Apple Cider	Apple cider	Water	Five ingredients; UK list	440 ml	United Kingdom
Strongbow Cloudy Apple Cider	Apple cider	Water	No artificial flavours/sweeteners/colours	not stated	United Kingdom
Strongbow Dark Fruit Cider	Flavoured cider	Water	Blackcurrant + blackberry juice	440 ml	United Kingdom
Strongbow Strawberry Cider	Flavoured cider	Water	Strawberry juice; sweet potato colour	440 ml	not stated
Strongbow Gold Apple (US)	Apple cider	Hard cider (US list)	Glucose-fructose syrup; US list	not stated	not stated
Strongbow Honey Hard Apple Cider (US)	Flavoured cider	Concentrated apple juice (US list)	Glucose syrup; US list	not stated	not stated

Panelled with verbatim lists: 8 products. Seen-but-not-verified: see the list below. No prices are shown here: they change weekly and would go stale. This site compares ingredients only.

Somersby Apple Cider — flagged Carlsberg Malaysia/Group list

Pack size: 330 ml · Made in: not stated (as printed)

Ingredients (Carlsberg Malaysia and Carlsberg Group product pages — regional lists, NOT an SG pack list): Water, apple wine (water, sugar, apple juice concentrate), sugar, apple juice concentrate, carbon dioxide, acid (citric acid), natural flavouring, preservative (potassium sorbate), colour (ammonia caramel).

Nutrition per 100 ml on the Carlsberg Malaysia page: sugars 8.1 g. ABV 4.5% per Somersby Malaysia. A second source (Wikipedia, citing the brand) gives a shorter list — water, fermented apple juice, sugar, apple juice concentrate, citric acid, flavour (apple), potassium sorbate, caramel colour — consistent on the items, different in wording. Flagged: regional list, not an SG pack list; the SG can must be checked before publish. ABV 4.5% Sugars 8.1 g / 100 ml Regional list — verify SG pack

Somersby Apple Cider 0.0% — flagged Carlsberg Group list

Pack size: not stated · Made in: not stated (as printed)

Ingredients (Carlsberg Group product page — NOT an SG pack list): Water, sugar, non-alcoholic fermented apple juice, apple juice concentrate, carbon dioxide, natural flavoring, acidifier: citric acid, colour ammonia caramel (E150c), preservative: potassium sorbate.

Nutrition per 100 ml on the same page: sugars 8.4 g — slightly higher than the alcoholic Somersby Apple's 8.1 g. Note the list order: sugar is second here, before the non-alcoholic fermented apple juice, while in the alcoholic version water and apple wine come first. A separate row for that reason. Flagged: Carlsberg Group list, not an SG pack list. Alcohol-free Sugars 8.4 g / 100 ml Regional list — verify SG pack

Strongbow Original Apple Cider — flagged UK listing

Pack size: 440 ml · Made in: United Kingdom (as printed)

Ingredients (UK retailer listings (McGrocer, ASDA, Desertcart) — NOT an SG pack list): Water, Apple Juice (from Concentrate), Sugar, Acid: Malic Acid, Antioxidant: Sodium Metabisulphite.

Nutrition per 100 ml on the McGrocer listing: energy 156 kJ / 37 kcal, fat 0.0 g, carbohydrate 2.9 g, protein 0.0 g, salt under 0.01 g, sugars 2.8 g, saturates 0.0 g. ABV 4.5% per McGrocer. Free from artificial colours, sweeteners and flavours, per the brand. Flagged: UK listing, not an SG pack list. ABV 4.5% (UK listing) Origin: United Kingdom UK list — verify SG pack

Strongbow Cloudy Apple Cider — flagged UK listing

Pack size: not stated · Made in: United Kingdom (as printed)

Ingredients (ASDA (UK retailer) — NOT an SG pack list): Water, Apple Juice (from Concentrate), Sugar, Acid: Malic Acid, Antioxidant: Sodium Metabisulphite.

Same five-item list as Strongbow Original on the ASDA entry — the difference is the cloudy (unfiltered) apple juice, not the ingredient list. Free from artificial flavours, sweeteners and colours, per the listing. Contains sulphur dioxide/sulphites. Flagged: UK listing, not an SG pack list. UK list — verify SG pack Contains sulphites Origin: United Kingdom

Strongbow Dark Fruit Cider — flagged UK listing

Pack size: 440 ml · Made in: United Kingdom (as printed)

Ingredients (ASDA / Spoonful (UK retailers) — NOT an SG pack list): Water, Apple Juice (from Concentrate), Sugar, Fruit Juices (from Concentrate: Blackcurrant Juice, Blackberry Juice), Acid: Malic Acid, Colouring Food (Concentrate from Carrot), Natural Flavouring, Antioxidant: Sodium Metabisulphite. (ASDA's entry omits the antioxidant line; Spoonful includes it — both versions are quoted here, not merged.)

ABV 4% per the ASDA entry. The blackcurrant and blackberry juices are the flavour difference from Original; the carrot-concentrate colouring food is the colour difference. The ASDA vs Spoonful antioxidant discrepancy is stated, not resolved — the SG can must settle it. ABV 4% (UK listing) UK list — verify SG pack

Strongbow Strawberry Cider — flagged Open Food Facts listing

Pack size: 440 ml · Made in: not stated (as printed)

Ingredients (Open Food Facts (secondary) — NOT an SG pack list): Water, Apple Juice (from Concentrate), Sugar, Fruit Juice (from Concentrate: Strawberry), Acid: Malic Acid, Natural Flavourings, Colouring Food (from Concentrate: Sweet Potato), Antioxidant: Sodium Metabisulphite.

Same pattern as Dark Fruit, with strawberry juice and a sweet-potato-concentrate colouring food instead of carrot. Flagged: Open Food Facts listing, market not confirmed as Singapore — verify on the SG can. Non-SG list — verify SG pack

Strongbow Gold Apple Hard Cider — flagged US listing

Pack size: not stated · Made in: not stated (as printed)

Ingredients (FoodsCo (US retailer) — NOT an SG pack list): Hard Cider (Fermented Apple Juice From Concentrate and Glucose Syrup), Water, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Apple Juice Concentrate, Malic Acid, Caramel Color, Natural Flavors, Potassium Metabisulfite To Preserve Freshness. Contains Sulfur Dioxide and Sulfites.

A different recipe from the UK Strongbow Original above: it starts with hard cider (fermented apple juice plus glucose syrup), adds glucose-fructose syrup, and uses caramel colour and potassium metabisulfite. Same brand, different market — the two lists are panelled separately and never merged. Flagged: US listing only. US list — verify SG pack Glucose-fructose syrup

Strongbow Honey Hard Apple Cider — flagged US listing

Pack size: not stated · Made in: not stated (as printed)

Ingredients (FoodsCo (US retailer) — NOT an SG pack list): Concentrated Apple Juice, Water, Glucose Syrup, Malic Acid, Color, Natural Flavors, Sulfite, Lightly Carbonated. Contains Sulfur Dioxide and Sulfites.

The US Honey variant's list starts with concentrated apple juice (not water) and lists glucose syrup — a different order and a different sweetener from the UK Original. No honey is named in the retrieved US list despite the flavour name; that is quoted as printed, not corrected. Flagged: US listing only. US list — verify SG pack Glucose syrup

Seen but not verified — do not panel until checked

Somersby — other flavours (Blackberry, Pear, Watermelon, Mango Lime, Elderflower & Lime, Sparkling Rosé) — Sold in Singapore; only Apple and Apple 0.0% had retrieved lists in this pass. Wikipedia's Pear entry (purified drinking water, concentrated pear juice, sugar, citric acid) is a regional description, not an SG pack list, so it is not panelled.
Strongbow — other flavours (Elderflower, Red Berries) — Elderflower (French OFF entry: cider 90%, glucose-fructose syrup, caramel colour, malic acid, carbon dioxide, potassium metabisulfite, elderflower extract, natural flavourings) and Red Berries (German OFF entry) exist as non-SG listings; no SG pack lists retrieved.
Rekorderlig, Kopparberg, Magners, Thatchers, Aspall, Savanna, Martinelli's Sparkling Cider — Imported ciders sold in Singapore (Martinelli's is non-alcoholic sparkling cider); no SG pack ingredient lists retrieved in this pass.
Local / craft cider — Singapore craft cider is a small, mostly on-trade category; no retail pack lists retrieved.
FairPrice, Cold Storage, Giant, Sheng Siong, Don Don Donki, Mustafa, Meidi-Ya, Le Petit Depot, RedMart, Lazada and Shopee cider ranges — Checked only through the search results above in this pass; no FairPrice ingredient section was retrieved for any cider, and the full cider shelves were not paginated in full. Cold Storage publishes no ingredient list on any product page.

Nutrition — what the numbers say

All figures in the table are as sold, per 100 g or per 100 ml unless the Basis column says otherwise. Click a column header to sort low to high; click again for high to low. Rows marked "not stated" always sort last — a dash is missing data, not zero. Per-serving-only figures are in a separate table below and are never sorted against per-100 figures, and are never converted to per-100 by guessing.

Salt and sodium: salt = sodium × 2.5. The table shows sodium as printed (in mg) with the salt equivalent in brackets. Sodium is not presented as salt, and salt is not presented as sodium. Where a source printed salt only, the sodium figure is the arithmetic conversion (salt ÷ 2.5) and is flagged as converted.

Total vs added sugars: most Singapore packs list total sugars, not added sugars. A total-sugars figure is never labelled here as "added sugar". Where a source states an added-sugars figure separately, it is noted. The ingredient list remains the evidence for added sugar (sugar, sucrose, glucose syrup) versus naturally occurring sugars.

Open Food Facts is a community database and is flagged as secondary where used: the pack and the retailer nutrition section take precedence if they disagree. Figures marked "not stated" were not in the source retrieved; they are not estimated, borrowed from another variant, or copied across flavours.

Product	Basis	Energy	Protein	Total fat	Saturated fat	Carbohydrate	Sugars	Sodium (salt equiv.)
Somersby Apple Cider (Carlsberg Malaysia list)	Per 100 ml, as sold	not stated	not stated	not stated	not stated	not stated	8.1 g	not stated
Somersby Apple Cider 0.0% (Carlsberg Group list)	Per 100 ml, as sold	not stated	not stated	not stated	not stated	not stated	8.4 g	not stated
Strongbow Original Apple Cider (UK listing)	Per 100 ml, as sold	37 kcal	0 g	0 g	0 g	2.9 g	2.8 g	under 10 mg (salt under 0.01 g)

Observed numbers, no verdict: sugars in the tabled rows range from 2.8 g (Strongbow Original, UK listing) to 8.4 g (Somersby 0.0%) per 100 ml. Energy is stated only for Strongbow Original (37 kcal per 100 ml); the Somersby rows have sugars only, because the Carlsberg pages give sugars without energy in the retrieved text — the missing columns are "not stated", not estimated.

Seen but not verified (nutrition): no per-100 ml nutrition panel was verified in this pass for Strongbow Cloudy Apple, Dark Fruit, Strawberry, Gold Apple (US) or Honey (US). Their ingredient panels are unchanged.

How to read a cider label — the jargon, in plain English

Apple wine: Fermented apple juice — the alcoholic base of Somersby. The list names it as an ingredient with its own sub-list (water, sugar, apple juice concentrate).
Malic acid: The acid naturally present in apples, added here as an acidity regulator. It is in every Strongbow list and in Somersby's citric-acid entry the equivalent role is played by citric acid.
Sodium / potassium metabisulphite: Antioxidant and preservative (sulphites). Sodium metabisulphite in the UK Strongbow lists; potassium metabisulfite in the US Gold Apple list; potassium sorbate in Somersby. Different preservatives, same job — check which one your can lists.
Ammonia caramel (E150c): A caramel colour. It is in both Somersby lists and in the US Strongbow Gold Apple list, but not in the UK Strongbow Original list.
Colouring food (concentrate from carrot / sweet potato): Colour from concentrated vegetable juice, not a synthetic colour. Dark Fruit uses carrot concentrate; Strawberry uses sweet potato concentrate.
Glucose-fructose syrup: A liquid sweetener (also called high-fructose corn syrup in the US). It is in the US Strongbow lists and the French Strongbow Elderflower list, but not in the UK Original list.
0.0% vs low-alcohol: 0.0% means the pack states 0.0% alcohol. Somersby 0.0% is a separate product from Somersby Apple (4.5%) with its own list — check the exact figure on the can.

What this page is not

Not a health score, and not a "best" pick. The groups on this page are different products, and this page does not rank them.
Not a taste test, and not a price comparison. Prices change weekly; ingredients change less often, but still change.
Not complete. The products in seen-but-not-verified are not yet panelled, for the verification reasons given, not hidden. No page claims 100% completeness.

Sources and method

Checked 12 November 2026 from: Carlsberg Malaysia and Carlsberg Group product pages (Somersby Apple; Somersby Apple 0.0% — flagged regional lists); Somersby brand site (Apple list, corroboration); UK retailer listings (McGrocer, ASDA — Strongbow Original, Cloudy Apple, Dark Fruit; flagged); Open Food Facts (Strongbow Strawberry, Elderflower, Red Berries — flagged); US retailer listings (FoodsCo — Strongbow Gold Apple, Honey; flagged); Wikipedia Somersby entry (shorter Apple list, corroboration only). No FairPrice ingredient section was retrieved for any cider in this pass. Full per-fact source list is in the accompanying research notes. Where a full pack list could not be verified, the product is in seen-but-not-verified instead of being panelled.