Thatchers Cider is on the rise, with the West Country’s traditional drink enjoying a popularity it’s not seen in years. Christian Annesley hears from Somerset cider man John Thatcher about how apples became a growth business.
Heading into Somerset to meet the grand old man of a family of cidermakers, you might think the encounter would be more about tradition than the influx of technology in the South West.
But John Thatcher, chairman of Sandford company Thatchers Cider, only half fits the image of a old-timer He sounds like a Somerset man and looks like a gentleman farmer, but tradition is just one part of the story he tells about the family business, which is more than a century old.
The market for cider has boomed in recent years, buoyed by high-profile brands such as Magners and it jostling for position in the mass market with the likes of Strongbow. In this world of cut-throat competition and sometimes cut prices, Thatchers Cider has held its own and managed to thrive by concentrating on quality, innovating whenever possible and by steering clear of the heat of the battle when it has been at its fiercest.
Thatcher has plotted the course for the company over the past decade with his son, and MD, Martin. They have chosen to invest in the latest production technologies to boost efficiency, improve the quality and range of their ciders and open up new markets such as fruit processing.
Thatcher calls the approach conservative, downplaying just what the company has achieved. After weathering the storm of price competition in the 1990s, Thatchers pushed ahead with premium ciders and draught Ice Gold – a product that uses new technology to dispense a mixture of chilled and frozen cider into the glass to keep the drink cold without becoming diluted.
It all seems a far cry from the business established by his grandfather in 1904, but Thatcher insists there is a sense of continuity, with the company having remained family owned – and carefully managed – down the generations. “Our philosophy has always been not to overstretch ourselves. We have always tried to grow, but steadily,” he says. “The business has been built up over a long time and our financial strength has been hard-won. It means we are now strong and experienced enough to really compete with the bigger companies by pressing ahead with new products.”
These launches have boosted the company’s tally of brands to more than a dozen but Thatcher says a low-key approach is still the best place to start. “We generally launch a product with a small-scale trial. Any launch carries risks because of the production and marketing costs involved, so we try to keep it simple.”
This usually means starting with a handful of local Somerset pubs – an approach Thatcher says will often provide enough information – before rolling a product out. “Development work takes time but the taste and popularity test is crucial. If you have ten possibles on the table, you would trial two or three to get one right.”
Of course, to get cider you need apples, which is one area Thatcher still oversees. “Making good cider needs good fruit – and good processing. We have always spent a lot of time on this. There are more than 2,300 varieties of apple in the UK and we have 500 or so in our orchards, but only 20 that we grow commercially.”
As well as its own orchards, Thatchers also buys locally grown apples from nearby farmers, but effective harvesting can hold the key for a company that gets through 25,000 tonnes of the crop every year. “Plenty of cidermakers grow beautiful apples, but they aren’t always delivered in the best condition,” he says. “We harvest mechanically and have spent a lot of time and energy on improving our systems to get the apples at their peak because it makes for a better end product.”
And Thatcher is still wide-eyed at how mechanisation has transformed the face of the business in just a generation.“In all forms of agriculture, including ours, automation has changed everything. Not so long ago two people could harvest a tonne of fruit between them in a day. Now the figure is more like 70 tonnes per person for a day at peak production. The change is staggering.”
Other startling efficiencies are made possible by the company’s state-of-the-art processing facility, which sets Thatchers apart from its rivals. The company can put 350 tonnes of apples through its processing plant overnight during the picking season and each of its Swiss-made presses can press 12 tonnes of fruit in two hours.
Even fermentation is being handled by 12 new automated temperature-controlled tanks in which the company has invested more than half a million pounds. “Our capital outlay has been huge, but it’s worth it. It takes out the monitoring and the guesswork – and the plant’s capacity is now well above what we need. We can easily up our output to sell more further down the line.”
This forward planning is also paying dividends now costs are rising and the economy is less stable. “It’s not just fuel that costs more – though that has hit us hard,” Thatcher admits. “Fertilizer costs are almost double what they were a year ago, though buying ahead means I’ve enough for this growing season.”
Longer lead times for key stock are also forcing the company’s hand. “It’s noticeable just how much the industry has tightened. Companies don’t carry stock any more,” he says. “A tractor recently packed up and the lead time for delivery of a new one is more than 12 months. I’ve had to hire something else to plug the gap.”
But you get the impression these issues won’t hold the company back. It’s faced worse in its history and is as strong as it has ever been. And the company’s recent appearance in Insider’s Growth 100 list points to a sparkling future.