Success was attributed to an excellent marketing campaign, and being the first canned ale to be sold with a widget after Guinness. In 1997 Boddingtons sales peaked, and 1998 saw a drop in sales of 10 per cent. Boddingtons had been turned into: "a fashion product ... and as with all fashion products, the drinkers moved on". In 1998 production of the Flowers ale brands was moved to Strangeways. Boddingtons' share of the UK ale market grew to 4.9 per cent in 1998–1999, and sales grew by 7.3 percent during 1999–2000.