Cider is one of the fastest-growing alcohol categories in Australia and not surprisingly, the sector is a hive of activity. Here's a snapshot of some of the latest manufacturer manoeuvres.
Rekorderlig
Swedish cider brand Rekorderlig, has shot to stardom in Australia and its founders, Henrik Dunge and Anders Nanne, recently visited to meet with their new sole Australian importer and distributor, Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA).
CCA took over from Red Island in January as the popularity of the brand grew.
Rekorderlig is made at Vimmerby in southern Sweden at a brewery owned by Dunge, who with Nanne and his wife Helen created the popular international brand 17 years ago. It is now the top-selling flavoured cider brand in Australia.
Nanne told Food & Drink Business that just five years ago, Rekorderlig’s exports accounted for five per cent of sales, but today it’s up to 50 per cent.
According to Dunge, the company recently put in a new bottling, kegging and canning line at its facility, which is now the largest bottling line in northern Europe, to cope with the growth.
The long Swedish summer, and the resulting sweetness of the apples grown there, were responsible for the brand’s popularity, Nanne says.
“From the beginning there were three main words for the brand: taste, taste, and taste.”
Strongbow
Carlton & United Breweries’ (CUB) veteran cider brand Strongbow, a mainstay of the Australian cider industry for four decades, recently opted for a packaging refresh.
Craig Maclean, general manager for cider at CUB, said the company was keen to keep up with the changing trends in the category.
“When it comes to Strongbow, we want to embrace the authenticity of the brand while also evolving the look and feel of it to keep up with consumers’ constant thirst for something new.”
CUB says the branding refresh aims to bring to life an essence of relaxed simplicity. The bold, wood-cut style tree illustration on a printed wood grain finish reinforces the cider’s origins in the orchard, and the natural colouring of the labels aims to impart an earthy feel and complement the green glass bottle.
Cheeky Rascal
Boutique cider house Rebello recently snared a gold medal at the Royal Melbourne Fine Food Awards for its méthode traditionelle cider.
The Mornington Peninsula-based team behind Cheeky Rascal Cider says it spent months in development before launching its methode.
The product involves a time-consuming and labour-intensive process similar to the production of champagne. It involves putting granny smith apple juice through an initial fermentation process and then a secondary bottle fermentation on yeast lees for nine months.
Rebello CEO Ruth Gallace says the award validated the expertise, time and resources that went into developing the product.
“We had never attempted anything like this before, so to be awarded gold by the Royal Melbourne Fine Food Awards against other very established cider houses is very rewarding,” she says.
Endless Cider
Endless Cider was recently named in Dan Murphy’s Top 100 People’s Choice for its newly launched apple and pear varieties.
Created by husband-and-wife team Sasha and Danae Goldsmith, owners of the Cellar d’Or online retailer and broker business, in partnership with a local cider maker in Gippsland, Victoria, Endless Cider aims to tap a market gap for a locally made cider.
Endless Cider is available in apple, made from with 100 per cent real crushed apple fruit juice, and pear, made from 100 per cent real crushed pear fruit juice. Both come in a 330ml bottle, 3400 cases of which have been sold since 2013.
The Goldsmiths designed the distinctive bottle label along with all the packaging.
