Cider producer Thatchers invests £14m in new mill

Somerset cider producer Thatchers is to invest £14 million in a new cider mill at its farm which, if granted approval, will double its production capacity from 450 to 1,000 tones per day.

Confident that there’s room for growth in the apple cider sector, Thatchers has been increasingly its output in recent years, rising from 12 million litres in 2009 to 66 million litres last year.

The global cider category grew by 2.5% last year, the equivalent of 6.3 million nine-litre cases, and Thatchers has said that will it will require an extra 9 million litres a year by 2019 in order to satisfy demand.

The producer submitted plans for a new 63,292 sq ft cider mill to North Somerset Council.

In addition, it planted 97,000 apple trees between 2009 and 2014, with a further 28,500 in 2015 and plans to plant an additional 53,700 trees by the end of 2018.

Having built a new packaging facility in 2012, Thatchers also invested in a new fermentation and storage facility in 2015.

In its application, it noted: “The current warehousing arrangements have reached capacity, and planning permission was obtained at the end of 2016 to build a new facility to ensure predicted cider demands can be satisfied. Works to create the new warehouse building are ongoing.”

Thatchers marketing director Martin Thatcher commented: “This investment is about our confidence in the cider market and in the future of world-class cidermaking here at Myrtle Farm. Our aim has always been to produce fantastic ciders here at Thatchers that are best in class on both quality and consistency. Our existing mill has served us well for many years, but we’re now looking to increase our capacity to meet growing demand. The new mill will of course be located at Myrtle Farm, will use less energy, and will be sustainably powered by energy generated on site”.

“There’s a lot of talk about fruit cider, but as I see it, there’s a raft of innovation and variety within the apple cider category, and this is where our focus lies. We have a wealth of knowledge of apples, and how the different varieties work together to create new and exciting ciders, as well as maintaining those ciders that we know people already love.

“Apple is so versatile that through innovation we can meet all taste profiles from dry through to medium and sweet with this one fruit.”

“The growth of fruit is seeing consumers move from bottle to draught. The market is saturated with flavour, pubs consistently want fewer but better quality brands. As a result, the cider space in the fridge needs to adapt to embrace super premium apple ciders, as fruit and flavour comes out of the fridge and onto the bar”.

Providing it gets planning approval, the mill will be completed in 2019.