Examining the potential for harvesting and making more use of the fruit from traditional orchards - A study carried out for the Three Counties ...
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Examining the potential
for harvesting and making
more use of the fruit from
traditional orchards
A study carried out for the Three Counties
Traditional Orchard Project
by
Anne-Marie Bur
and Topsy Jewell
Common Cause Co-operative
December 2018
CONTENTS
1 Introduction........................................................... 3
2 Barriers to Fruit Use.............................................. 5
3 Fruit Juice............................................................. 6
4 Cider..................................................................... 12
5 Plums................................................................... 21
6 Community Initiatives and Fundraising............. 23
7 Conclusions and Recommendations.................... 29
8 Enterprises, Organisations & People Consulted...31
2
1 INTRODUCTION
In parts of the country and, in particular, have been brought back from the brink
in the three counties of Gloucestershire, and new community orchards planted,
Worcestershire and Herefordshire, often with local fruit varieties that would
commercial orchards were planted to otherwise have long since disappeared.
supply the demand for apples, pears, The People’s Trust for Endangered
plums and other tree fruits. Changing Species (PTES) through their monumental
practices and economic conditions means Traditional Orchard Survey has identified
that many of the orchards that formed and mapped 35,000 traditional orchards
part of the UK landscape until the 1970s in England and 7,000 in Wales. Across
have disappeared. Others at farmhouse the country orchard groups have emerged,
and larger commercial scales survived many of whom have planted their own
but were sometimes abandoned and left community orchards (PTES has mapped
to their own devices. Still others remain over 400 community orchard groups across
as functioning commercial orchards. The the UK (National Biodiversity Network
orchards that remained and were not community orchard list ). Orchard groups
treated with the array of chemical fertilisers and orchard enthusiasts have led the way in
and pesticides available to fruit growers in identifying and restoring older traditional
the twentieth century have become havens orchards and passing on orchard skills to
for wildlife. Traditional orchards were a new generation. One of the appealing
awarded Biodiversity Action Plan priority characteristics of orchards is that, even
habitat status by Natural England in 2007. when maintained mainly for their beauty
The movement to preserve traditional and wildlife value, they go on producing
orchards and heritage varieties owes fruit. If left unpicked, this provides rich
much to Common Ground. Since its pickings for insects, birds and mammals.
inception in the 1980s, probably many However, many believe that if orchards
hundreds, if not thousands, of orchards are to be properly maintained, there
3
needs to be other uses to the harvest. We have divided the report into four
In the piece of research that follows main areas: Juice, Cider, Plums and Not-
we looked at the potential for some of for-profit Uses. Internet searches and
the fruit to be used for other purposes, interviews with stakeholders have allowed
both commercial and non-commercial. us to look across the country at enterprises
Having explored a number of options and community groups and national
our research made it clear that the most organisations to examine current trends
financially viable options are fruit juice and practices. We have focused on those
and cider. We found evidence of cider aspects of juice and cider making and
vinegar production alongside juice or community group activities that provide
cider but other products such as apple examples of how fruit from traditional
purée and dried apples are problematic orchards can or could be used. Finally
in business terms. We understand (from we list some recommendations for future
Michael Bentley of Castle Fruit Farm) actions to enable more use to be made
that these products tend to come from of the fruit from traditional orchards.
other countries where costs are lower.
4
2 Barriers to Fruit Use
T
here are many barriers to using looking for fruit.
fruit from traditional orchards. * Lack of information about fruit varieties
Orchards may be dispersed over long means that cider makers may need to
distances, vary in size and quantity of fruit, experiment before committing to a harvest.
fruit biennially, have mixed and unknown * Building sufficient trust with an orchard
varieties of fruit and different ripening owner to allow people and groups to harvest
times, and have livestock grazing. Pam their apples takes time and good people
McCarthy surveyed a number of stakeholders skills.
in the Three Counties for their views and * Fruit ripens at different times and
summarized them in her report “Orchard therefore has to be harvested and processed
Produce Summary” (November 2017). We throughout the season, adding levels of
heard very similar concerns from the many complexity to businesses or extended
people we talked to for this report and demands on volunteer time.
summarise them here: * Grazing stock should be withdrawn before
harvesting which is often a problem for
* Labour for picking is the number one orchard owners, especially those who rent
obstacle we heard time and time again. their orchards to graziers.
Orchard owners may be willing to have their * Quality control of donated fruit can be a
fruit used, but often don’t have the capacity to problem, especially fruit for making apple
pick and labour is too expensive and difficult juice.
to recruit for many small scale businesses. * Disposal of pulp becomes a bigger and
* Finding orchards that are accessible, easy bigger problem for makers and community
to harvest and knowing who owns them can groups if they don’t have somewhere to easily
be an obstacle and very time consuming, dispose of it.
especially for cider makers. Likewise orchard * Marketing and labelling are very time
owners may not be internet savvy or use consuming for not for profit organisations
social media and so may not find out who is relying on volunteers.
5
3 Fruit Juice
In this section we refer mainly to apple British Soft Drink Association Annual
juice as apples account for most fruit Reports 2015, 2016 and 2017 all report
juice production. We are aware that a fall in sales in fruit juice, describing
some producers, however, also make it as a “an unfortunate by-product of
pear juice but we did not come across the misguided campaign on sugar”.
producers of pear juice as a stand In Europe, the UK is the third largest
alone product. However much of what consumer of fruit juice by volume
follows applies equally to pear juice. after Germany and France. Germany
We wanted to get a picture of sales or alone is responsible for one quarter of
consumption of farm pressed apple juice consumption of juices in the EU, 34% of
in the UK but quickly realised there are which is orange juice followed by 23%
no reports on this category of product. We apple juice. 60% of the UK market is
thought it would be interesting to include orange juice followed by 12.5% apple
some of our findings on the global juice juice. In France orange juice is 50% of
market to provide a bigger scale picture. the market, followed by mixed flavours
There is a rising demand globally for 21% and then apple juice 11% (European
cold pressed juices and juices ‘not from Fruit Juice Association 2016 report).
concentrate’. This is attributed to growing Dan Keech, Countryside and Community
awareness about the health benefits of Research Institute CCRI, University
these drinks and is particularly pronounced of Gloucester, highlighted the cultural
in North America and Europe. (TechSci differences in apple juice consumption
Research). Marketing campaigns by high between Germany and the UK. Many
profile companies such as PepsiCo and more German people are still part time
Starbucks for their cold pressed juices will land workers and have a much greater
no doubt be helping to put these products connection to the land than people in
in the public eye. However in the UK the Britain. In the south of Germany many
6
people own orchards and often the difficult to get established or sell beyond
ownership of trees is shared and there is the very local. But this could be due to
local, small scale infrastructure in place for marketing and distribution difficulties
picking and processing the fruit. There are that these small businesses experience.
also a large number of commercial juicing A number of commercial orchard
companies. The quality of apple juice is businesses started making juice when
high and the price is low. Consequently, the price of fresh apples fell in the
people in Germany drink far more apple 1990s making imports more attractive.
juice than in the UK, where farm pressed They discovered, in some cases to their
apple juice is expensive and considered surprise, that their juice sold extremely
more of a luxury, premium product. well and suddenly they had a constant
cash flow through the year instead of only
during the apple season. The advent of
Farmers Markets in the late 1990s aided
direct selling and the chance to hear
customer feedback. Producers could take
advantage of customers’ interest in 100%
natural, organic, the story of ‘branch to
bottle’, low food miles, traditional and
heritage varieties, fruit flavours, and
more recently reduced sugar by adding
water for a more refreshing drink.
Apple juice has rescued some businesses
suffering from the low price of fresh fruit or
from inclement weather, and helped others
to diversify and expand. Some businesses
have exploited add on enterprises such
as cider production, equipment hire and
juicing services for the public. Many
are passionate about orchards and are
Drovers Hill Farm, a small scale juice maker
committed to restoring and sustaining old
in Buckinghamshire sells from the farm and
via a number of local outlets orchards, preserving old and local varieties,
natural management without pesticides,
However, UK apple juice production at a
and selling direct. This often means that
relatively small scale for local sale appears
logistics are complex with harvesting
to be a dynamic market. Although market
schedules changing every year, hand
data is not available, key people in relevant
picking and sorting, blending apples to
sectors that we spoke to, see this as an
obtain the right mix, coping with gluts and
activity on an upward trend. Medium scale
scarcity, managing diverse and many outlets
enterprises are also much in evidence.
and having a product that is seasonal and
The feeling is that interest in locally
may not be available all year round. These
produced apple juice amongst consumers
may also be reasons why some voluntary
is still increasing. This is reflected in
organisations sometimes struggle to make
how common it is now to see local apple
apple juice a lucrative income stream. The
juice for sale in shops, markets, at shows
examples below give a flavour of thriving
and in some pubs, restaurants, cafes and
apple juice businesses around the country.
served for breakfast at some B&Bs. We
heard from a very small number of makers Days Cottage apple juice, cider and perry
(most notably micro enterprises) that it is is a family run business in Gloucestershire
a crowded market and they had found it sourcing apples and pears mainly from
7
traditional and newly planted orchards. orchards since the 1950s. New owners
Together with their own orchards the farm expanded and replaced trees in the 1960s
harvests from a handful of traditional and cold stores and pack houses were built
orchards within a 10 mile radius of the to handle the volume of fruit. The family
farm. When they started in the early business considered juice in the 1980s when
1990s Helen Brent-Smith says there was prices for fresh fruit were fluctuating, but
no interest in local apple juice and it was it wasn’t until a big hail storm devastated
very hard to sell. That has all changed and their crop in the 1990s that the family
Helen says there is now a strong market. decided to make a batch of apple juice.
They sell from their own shop, local farm, The juice sold well and convinced the
and health food shops and Stroud farmers owners of the demand for freshly pressed
market. It is a diverse business and the apple juice. From producing 1000 bottles
logistics are “massively complex” says in a whole season in the 1990s, today the
Helen. It only works because of their long farm produces 8,000 litres a day and they
term commitment to traditional orchards, employ four full time staff using traditional
experience with what works, and their range pressing methods and slow pasteurization.
of products, outlets and services throughout They have a range of over 20 single variety
the year including a juicing service (which apple juices, many award winning, and a
helps with cash flow), training courses, dozen fruit blends including strawberry,
grafting new trees, and a juice and cider black current, plum, and elderflower.
product range based on traditional varieties. Clives Fruit Farm in Worcestershire
Apple Cottage, in Hertfordshire, make has a similar story. When the value of
award winning apple juice, cider and perry. fresh apples and pears collapsed in the
They say that the health and sustainability 1990s, they turned to juicing. Initially
of their orchards and the restoration of they contracted out the pressing, then
old orchards is a priority. They use only purchased a press to make juice on
local, unsprayed fruit, minimise food miles, site, upgrading their equipment and
make single as well as mixed varieties of expanding their capacity in 2010. They
juice and emphasis the health benefits of describe their product as “100% juice,
apple juice in their marketing. They are no added water, chemicals or sugar like
passionate about not wasting fruit and most commercial apple juices”. Clives
provide a juicing and very comprehensive Fruit Farm is also a ‘pick your own’ and
equipment hire service, and will purchase they offer cherries, plums, apples &
bulk bins of apples from local growers. pears all grown in traditional orchards
They proclaim on their website that around the farm. They have 100 acres of
they “hate to see unwanted apples go orchards split between two holdings.
to waste” and “pick your apples. Don’t Welsh Farmhouse Apple Juice is made on a
waste them just turn them into cider”. family farm in the Brecon Beacons. Apples
Helford Creek Apple Juice and Cider in are sourced from local organic orchards
Cornwall has orchards planted with old with old and traditional varieties of apples,
varieties of Cornish apples. Their trees some with trees planted by the farmer’s
are unsprayed and they have bee hives to grandfather. The apple juice enterprise was
help with pollination. The juice is made added to the farm business to help make
from their own apples and the cider from the farm a more viable family business
their own and cider apples from other and provide employment for the owners’
local orchards. Their juice is only available son. The juice is sold to restaurants, pubs,
in retail outlets in Cornwall - their labels cafes, B&Bs, through farmers markets, farm
carry the ‘Made in Cornwall’ logo. shops and local shops. It has been very
Ringden Farm in East Sussex has had successful, expanding in size and employing
not only their son but part time labour
8picking and processing. They have had to £150 a day plus fuel and delivered complete
source more apples and are doing so mainly with a machine driver) small and large
from people who have bought a property presses, electric mills, manual scatter, bulk
with a small orchard and have surplus containers, pasteurisers, bottles and lots
apples, helping to sustain these orchards more. For those using the pressing service
and adding new varieties to their range. on the farm, lightweight, stackable boxes
Important selling factors for the business can be picked up for a deposit to make it
are its local provenance, organic status, easier for people to handle their apples.
and the stories that go with old varieties Also available for hire are juice extractors
of apples made into single variety juice. for plums and damsons. The general drive
Juicing services seems to be to make it as easy as possible
Across the UK there are numerous for people not to waste their fruit.
businesses offering juicing services to Juicing services that are stand-alone
individuals or groups. These seem to fall We spoke to a number of enterprises for
into two main types: those providing juicing whom juicing is their main activity. Richard
services for individuals as part of their Paget of My Apple Juice in Wiltshire
own juice or cider business or as an add- employs five people full time throughout
on to a farm shop, and those that provide the harvest season providing this service
juicing as their main business. Prices per for individuals. He spends the rest of the
750ml bottle of pasteurised juice vary year pruning fruit trees, making elderflower
from £1 to £1.75 with many charging extra cordial and in the early summer attends
for labeling. The main clients seem to be shows selling their own apple juice. Now
people with fruit trees or small orchards in his ninth year, having started small, he
in their gardens. People we spoke to pressed 60,000 bottles of juice last year. He
offering this service say it is a successful uses a 90 litre and 120 litre hydropress and
and growing activity. For example, Day a 100 bottle capacity pasteuriser. His focus
Cottage, Apple Cottage, Clives Fruit Farm is on reducing the wastage of garden fruits
and Ringden Farm all offer a juicing service and he also works with community groups.
as well as running their juice businesses. Chiltern Ridge in Buckinghamshire
The motivation by these businesses is has approximately 1500 clients per
often a desire to help people use their year (and some return several times
fruit, reduce wastage, and rejuvenate old during the season) and produce about
orchards and trees as well as to create 100,000 bottles of apple juice per
an additional income stream. The range year. Labelling can be customised.
of services offered by these fruit farms is At Upper Neatham Mill Farm in Hampshire
often wide and flexible to suit people with people can bring their apples for juicing
different circumstances and quantities of or hire the equipment on site and press
apples. Pruning and orchard management apples themselves for a day rate including
training and services are also often on offer. training on how to use the equipment.
Apple Juice Equipment Hire They can leave the waste pulp behind or
Juicing equipment hire appears to be take it with them. The farm also offers
common throughout England and the a weekend course in cider making.
enterprises we have spoken to all say there Mobile Juicing
is a big and growing demand for the service. The Apple Pressing Service in Newton
Apple Cottage in Hertfordshire offer one Abbot, Devon, is unusual in the UK in
of the most comprehensive equipment that it has a mobile juicing unit which it
hire we’ve come across. They upgraded takes to people’s orchards or gardens. A
and expanded their hire offer for the 2018 fuel fee is applied for clients outside a 10
season, including harvesters (hire cost is mile radius of Newton Abbot. Apples are
9Appelpom mobile juicing facility in Belgium goes to orchards, villages and
towns to turn fruit into pasteurised juice
washed, crushed and pressed on site and in 15 minutes. The juice is returned to the
the juice is taken back to their premises in customer in 3litre or 5litre pouches or
tanks to be bottled and pasteurised. Clients bag-in-box containers. Applepom told us
collect the bottled juice, with a certificate that in Belgium they started by going to
of pasteurization and traceability log, or villages and small towns and producing
have it turned into cider. The business is juice for the local councils and parishes
in its 4th year and they cannot keep up for consumption in children’s nurseries
with demand, turning people away. While and schools. From here they progressed to
this is still a small scale operation, bottling juicing for individuals and orchard owners.
up to 650 litres in a day, compared to the Richard Paget of My Apple Juice in
orchard based services above, it provides Wiltshire ( see page 9) has recently
a very convenient service for both small acquired a mobile facility which he is
orchard owners and people with a few trees. currently using at his premises, but plans
Nearby in France, Belgium and Germany to take it ‘on the road’ in 2019. Richard
mobile juicing units are common. All the acquired the juicing facility from Voran
equipment to wash, press and pasteurise in Austria. He told us that Voran have
are carried on a trailer or within a lorry. produced 250 mobile juicers and estimates
Mouvipress in Normandy for example, goes that there may be as many as 300-400
from town to town throughout the autumn such facilities in northern Europe.
(visiting some places more than once). Swopping apples for juice
Customers book in advance and they tend to A number of the businesses that produce
have three types of customers: individuals apple juice and offer a juicing service also
who bring their apples to a public location, allow customers to donate their unwanted
often a car park in a garden centre, people apples in return for their branded juice
who have orchards that the juicing facility or cider. Customers usually receive about
goes to, and community groups and schools 20% of the juice or cider made from the
that can book a visit from Mouvipress to apples. In some ways this doesn’t make a
their establishment, or bring their apples great deal of sense for people with apples
to the public location. Pressi-mobile in since they could just as easily have all
Britanny, and Appelpom in Belgium operate their apples made into their own juice.
in roughly the same way. Such facilities However, it comes into its own if the
can convert apples into pasteurised juice organisation making the juice is a not for
10profit raising funds from juice sales to outlets and selling direct through farmers
preserve traditional orchards and wildlife. markets. Many of these business people
It is also a business model that is proving are also very passionate about preserving
very popular and successful with small- the traditional orchards in their locality
scale craft cider makers since many people and are aware and concerned about the
do not want the trouble of making cider. quantity of fruit that goes to waste in back
Conclusions gardens or in old neglected orchards.
At a national, regional and global level Juicing services, equipment hire, advice and
there is customer demand for healthy, training have become popular additional
unadulterated, fresh fruit drinks, a offers, with lots of talk of upgrading
trend which even soft drink giant and expanding equipment, even if these
PepsiCo is exploiting. Small scale, farm sidelines add layers of complexity to the
pressed, often single variety apple juice business. This may be because these
appears to be a vibrant market with services fulfill both business objectives and
customers willing to pay a premium. ethical concerns to reduce food waste.
The unique selling point of this product is The key point here is that juicing services
that it is made from just one ingredient – are available and are commercially
and if that ingredient is local, has a story successful, so if people with orchards want
to tell about its heritage, comes from an to process their fruit they can so long as
orchard that is a habitat for wildlife, is they are able to pick and transport the
handpicked and pressed using traditional fruit. Mobile juicers are an exception at
methods then it has value. There are the moment in the UK, but if this service
examples of fresh fruit growers around also proves financially viable it may expand
the country that turned to making apple making it even easier for owners of small
juice in response to the low price of their orchards to make use of their fruit, or as
fruit. They have built financially successful we will see (page 26), to offer the fruit
businesses often managing the distribution to fundraising groups such as schools.
of their products to local shops and
114 Cider
To try and gain a picture of what is the section on types of cider below.
happening currently in the UK with Overall, Westons Cider Report 2018
regard to cider, and specifically craft scale indicates that cider grew 3.5% in value and
production, we consulted producers, 2.2% in volume overall in the past year.
distributors and the Westons Annual While pear cider continued its decline in
Cider Report which analyses trends in the 2017, losing over 20% volume, ‘crafted
production and consumption of cider in the cider’ grew by 17%. Working out what
UK. The aim was to try and find out whether is happening at the smaller-scale end of
more fruit from traditional orchards might the market is problematic however. As
be used in cider production and to set this Gabe Cook (known as ‘The Ciderologist’
in the broader context of cider trends. and author of the book “Ciderology”)
The first thing to emphasise is that pointed out, the global figures for cider
cider is a generic term for quite a range can’t really reveal what is happening in
of drinks which have in common that the small-scale craft cider production
they are produced wholly or partly from world. The Weston Cider report, author
apples or pears. The latter is known as Matthew Langley confirmed, only picks
perry or pear cider. The Westons report up on-sales ( bars, restaurants) if the
contains a graphic that illustrates the producer has 500+ outlets, though off-sales
variety of ciders available in the UK. (in shops) should include the statistics
The graphic indicates that craft and for all cider sold. On the other hand,
artisan cider represent a broad spectrum producers, distributors and websites we
in terms of methods used and the variety consulted felt strongly that the number of
of the final product on a spectrum which craft cider producers is on the increase.
Westons describe as ‘traditional’ at one A quick trawl of the internet reveals the
end and ‘contemporary’ at the other. large number of cider producers who have
We return to this variation theme in set up in business in the last decade.
12Source: Weston’s Cider Report 2018
A trend that everyone seems to agree on category of ‘made wine’ which attracts a
and the statistics bear this out, is that higher tax liability. Though views vary, they
the popularity of fruit ciders is on the are still on an upward trend and one that
increase. It was suggested that this may many cider makers are taking advantage
go some way to explaining the waning in of, including craft cider makers using
the fortunes of perry because some perry pure juice from locally sourced fruit.
drinkers may have switched to fruit cider. Small-scale craft cider producers
Fruit ciders are based on apple juice to We have focused our research on the small-
which another fruit, usually a berry in scale craft sector of cider production as it
some form, and often flavouring and sugar, is a growth area and has close ties in many
has been added. Actual content of fruit areas to traditional orchards, a feature
ciders is not required to be shown on its emphasised by cider makers we spoke
labels but as this article reveals, they can to. Large and industrial scale producers
be low on apple juice and high on sugar source from large commercial orchards
content and calories. Often sparkling and or buy in apple concentrate or pulp from
sweeter than other ciders, they appeal other countries. We have not separated out
especially to many younger drinkers makers of perry, but we note that though
according to an article in The Grocer. overall figures suggest a decline in perry
Some cider makers we spoke to don’t drinking, many of the small scale cider
regard fruit ciders as properly cider at makers offer perry as well as apple cider.
all. For tax purposes, fruit ciders are not In this report we use small scale and
classed as cider but instead fall into the craft in a fairly loose way – we didn’t
13systematically gather data on amounts ways they market it and communicate with
of production. However a number of customers, are all areas that are undergoing
producers noted the system of taxing cider change. We have looked at each of these
and how it influences volume thresholds, below to provide context for the connections
which is useful to bear in mind. Cider to be made between cider production and
makers of less than 7,000 litres do not traditional orchards and where relevant
pay tax. If they produce over 7,000 litres, we have highlighted specific links.
they are liable for tax on the whole of Sources of fruit: traditional orchards,
their production. This means that many abandoned orchards, gardens, swaps,
producers stay below the 7,000 threshold and online resources for fruit offered
or have to make the leap to a much larger or wanted
scale of production to ensure tax liabilities Sourcing fruit for cider making is
are offset by sufficient growth in sales. straightforward for those who have
This year some large scale producers such their own orchards but for many new
as Bulmer (a subsidiary of Heineken) entrants this isn’t the case, and even
have ended their contracts with some for those with orchards, new ways of
apple growers meaning more apples from accessing fruit are opening up.
commercial orchards are looking for Tim Andrews, who makes Orchard Revival
buyers. An over supply of cider apples due cider in Gloucestershire, is one of what
to trees planted in the nineties coming appears to be a growing band of part-
to maturity combined with potentially time, but highly motivated, skilled and
cheaper apple concentrate from elsewhere professional young cider makers. These
appears to be the cause. However the may be people who have other employment
rise in craft cider production indicates but nevertheless are producing and
a healthy demand for fruit from local selling cider via local pubs, shops, shows
traditional orchards and an interest in etc. He and other recent entrants may be
finding new sources as we shall see below. representative of a new wave of makers
Craft cider production tends to be very who are not farmers, do not own orchards,
localised. Producers use local apples and so need to source from elsewhere, and
sell locally and that is at the heart of the have the environmental principles to
appeal to consumers. On the other hand favour sourcing from sustainably managed
some distributors are promoting craft orchards. Asked how he and other similar
ciders to a new generation of young, urban cider makers find orchards, Tim Andrews,
drinkers and sourcing their products from replied that they ‘drive round looking for
across the country. Alice Churchward of them’. He sources apples from a number
The Real Al Company, who distributes of orchards, and usually repays the
craft beers and ciders to ‘quality pubs, owner in kind, tending the orchard where
restaurants and bottle shops’ mainly in required and with cider. The main reward
London, told us that so-called ‘traditional’, for the orchard owner he says, is often
still, sometimes high alcohol cider does not the cider, it’s ‘seeing their orchard
sell but her sales of this have plateaued, having a role, and being looked after’.
while fruit ciders and other keg ciders Tim Andrews noted a number of barriers
(with added CO2) are definitely on the (see above) but the biggest challenge, he
rise. The world of cider production is said was ‘gaining the trust of the orchard
developing in new and innovative directions owner’. Tim’s comments are key we think
and we look at some of these below. in what they reveal about the transaction
Innovation in Cider Production that goes on between the growers and
How craft cider makers source their fruit, those who make use of the apples,
the kinds of cider they produce, and the particularly as the orchards which are
14the focus of this study are no longer, or want to pick apples and would favour the
never were, solely commercial orchards. creation of a picking service that organised
Big Nose and Beardy is a cider company pickers to harvest and take apples to
based in East Sussex, a county which central collection points. This idea was
ten years ago had very few commercial echoed by other cidermakers we spoke to.
cider makers. They are one of a growing Thirstly Cross Cider in East Lothian is at
number of makers, many established in the forefront of the craft cider movement in
the last decade. Of the 14 tonnes of apples Scotland. The company is keen to use fruit
processed this year, 9 tonnes came from
donations from gardens and local old
commercial orchards. Volunteers help pick
the fruit; and some apples are donated
direct to their premises. Volunteer pickers
are rewarded with a picnic meal and cider.
Orchard owners and those who donate
fruit from their gardens receive gifts of
cider in ‘a loose arrangement, no weighing’.
The rest of the fruit is bought from local
commercial orchards. Phil Day of Big Nose
and Beardy said that ideally, they would like
to expand beyond the 7,000 litre threshold
and collect a lot more fruit from ‘forgotten
orchards, the ones that are doing nothing’.
He particularly enjoys the sociability of
the picking days which are ‘much more
interesting than just buying in fruit’.
Expansion can mean modifying fruit
sourcing methods. SeaCider, also in
Sussex now sell half a million pints of from overlooked or abandoned trees and
cider per year, mainly to the North. They orchards and each year run an appeal for
used to buy apples from Sussex orchards apples. Their “Bucket for a Bottle” media
and press them themselves. But as the campaign has brought in apples from across
volume of cider production increased the country from schools, commercial and
so did the enormous quantities of pulp farm orchards and the general public.
which even the local farmers couldn’t David Lingran runs the Cotswold Fruit
deal with. Now they are supplied with Company which produces cider, perry and
juice direct from a Kent fruit farm. juice (including Gloucester Orchard Trust’s
Keith Orchard, maker of Orchard Cider Trust Juice – see section on Community
and Perry in the Wye Valley, has been Initiatives). He also offers an apple for cider
making cider for 20 years and used to have swap and emphasises that the Bushel and
his own orchard but now sources from Peck brand is made from fruit that might
traditional orchards. His preference is for otherwise go to waste, and “By using fruit
older orchards from which he can source from traditional orchards, by attaching
cider apples of all the requisite kinds (more some value to the fruit from the orchards,
modern orchards he said tend to have we are making our own contribution,
mainly bittersweet apples as the sharps however small, to their survival and the
are more likely to be biannual and thus a ecosystems they shelter”. All his apples
less certain yield). He adds Bramleys for come from Gloucestershire, and most from
sharpness. He noted that people no longer within 5 miles of the businesses. David will
collect if nearby and will pick in exceptional
15circumstances if the orchard is accessible, a A note of caution about apple for cider
good variety of apples or pears, and easy to swaps is that cider makers often require
harvest. David noted that an on line market specific varieties of apples, depending on
place would be useful for identifying where the type of cider they are making and the
buyers could source particular varieties consistency they aspire to in their product.
of apples. If a cider maker is willing to In the Three Counties the majority of cider
travel then distance is not a problem. is made from cider apples and we found
Collection areas could be developed. no examples of apple swaps in this region
He also thought that a hiring service for except for the Cotswold Fruit Company and
picking/harvesting apples might be useful. Clives Fruit Farm who make cider using a
Swapping apples for juice or cider has mix of apple types, including desert apples.
become a very popular model and we We spoke to James Forbes, chairman of the
found examples all over the country. Some Three Counties Cider and Perry Association
businesses, like the Garden Cider Company and owner of Little Pomona Orchard and
in Surrey, source all their apples from local, Cidery in Herefordshire, who told us that
donated garden apples. They began in 2010 he didn’t know of any apple swap schemes,
and each year 4,000 customers bring spare most probably because cider makers in this
apples in return for cider. So far this year area almost exclusively use cider apples.
they have taken in over 70 tonnes of fruit. Apples from back gardens are often
Trenchmore Farm in West Sussex produce cookers, and large proportions of Bramleys
a sparkling farmhouse cider called “Silly for instance may make the cider too acidic.
Moo” made entirely from Sussex apples. Sussex producers of Silly Moo Cider no
In addition to their own cider apples, this longer take them and they also avoid
year they took in 9 tonnes of donated apples early season dessert apples by starting
in exchange for 2000 bottles of cider. their swap in October. However if the
cider makers are also making apple juice
Saxby’s Cider in Northamptonshire was then these apple varieties can be diverted
created by an arable farmer who decided into juice production. David Lingran of
to diversify into cider in 2011. He planted Cotswold Fruit Company (see above) does
a new orchard and has a mix of 3,500 exactly this. He makes Bushel and Peck
cider and dessert apple trees which he cider and perry and also presses apples
blends in his cider, embracing as he says to make Humblebee and Trust Juice. For
both traditional and modern techniques. some makers, such as Big Nose and Beardy
They won Great Taste awards in 2017 Cider, variation has been made into a
(for their plum cider) and 2018 and virtue and a feature of their product.
the business continues to grow. With
growing demand for apples, they source Matching orchards up with cider makers
from orchards in Northamptonshire and (and others who would like fruit) has
Herefordshire and also run a “Bucket been attempted through online resources.
for a Bottle” campaign appealing to the Orchard Link, a community group in
public for eating apples in return for Devon, set up Harvestline where people
cider. They also appeal for volunteer apple can offer or ask for spare fruit. Initially
pickers and set picking times and dates. the aim was to be a local market place for
Devon, but the site attracted participants
Other cider makers we came across from all over England. A modulator, Tim
operating swaps as part of their business Walker, checks postings and removes any
model include John Hancox Cider in international ones. Otherwise people are
Glasgow, The Random Apple Company, left to contact each other and make their
Macclesfield, Hawkes London Cider, and own arrangements. As a consequence
the Guernsey Roquette Cider Company. they don’t know how much trading is
happening. All postings are taken down
16at the end of the season. There were 50 form part of an online resource. Gabe Cook
– 60 postings this year and the numbers thought that a good online marketplace
have been increasing each year. Tim could be useful given the increasing
suspects that when people make contact demand from craft cider makers for fruit
with each other, they strike up a long term from traditional orchards. However it was
relationship and do not need to return to also pointed out to us that not all owners of
the market place. Tim thinks there could traditional orchards were in a position to
be a national online market place given make best use of online resources. People
the response from all around the country, on the ground would also be needed to
but equally it would be good to encourage make the links, gather the information
local exchanges to minimize transport. needed about fruit varieties and ripening
GOT set up a similar resource, the times and help build relationships of trust
Marketplace, but this is no longer operating. between owners and would be users.
Jim Chapman of Hartpury Heritage Trust Types of Cider
thought that one of the problems with As mentioned earlier, cider is a broad
it was that people posted availability of term. The legal definition requires that
fruit when it was already ripe, too late for cider contains a minimum of 35% apple
potential users to make the necessary pre- juice. Many of the craft cider producers
visits and arrangements for harvesting. we researched, however, promote the fact
Another issue may have been that cider that their cider contains a much higher
makers needed more information on the percentage (often 100%) apple juice.
varieties of fruit on offer. Other factors After that, craft cider producers are
might include the geographical scope. enormously varied in the methods
James Forbes of Three Counties Cider and they use and the types of cider they
Perry Association suggested an annual produce. Some are keen to preserve
database of orchards, apple varieties and what are regarded as local traditions,
ripening times. He described how a cider while others are experimenting with
orchard in Herefordshire (with very old, new approaches. Some do both.
tall trees) lost its contract this year with Many cider makers are producing still
Heineken and posted their story on a cider, fully fermented, with nothing added
forum which was picked up by a journalist and as a result relatively high in alcohol.
and the narrative spread though social Tim Andrew’s Orchard Revival Cider is
media. As a result they managed to sell generally 6-8% for instance. Alcohol levels
their entire crop of 30 to 40 tonnes to craft can be reduced by adding water (we were
cider makers. This example demonstrates told this is sometimes referred to as ‘brook
the powerful role of social media, even apples’) or apple juice. The addition of
in this case which happened almost by apple juice has the effect of sweetening
accident, in helping to link those who the cider which broadens its appeal to
have apples with those who need them. those who prefer a sweeter cider. It also
Megan Gimber of the PTES Orchard means that the final product is still made
Network felt there were lessons to be learnt of 100% apple juice. ‘Backsweetening’
and that if adequate staffing was in place to with sugar is practised by Big Nose and
ensure the information was up to date and Beardy, with some of their batches. They
the site navigation was improved it would also pointed out that they leave the cider
definitely be worth establishing an online to go through a double fermentation which
fruit marketplace. Megan also came up with results in a smoother taste. Trenchmore
the idea for a graphic to illustrate to orchard Farm (Silly Moo cider) have orchards
owners the different ways they could deal with over 19 varieties of traditional cider
with the fruit from their trees, which could apple trees. The fully fermented cider is
17blended with the juice from Sussex grown we came across also make perry. A’Becketts
eating apples. The result is what they call a in Wiltshire have planted a range of perry
marriage of East Coast and West Country pear trees in order to start making perry
cider styles. It is slightly sparkling. in addition to their other drinks. Some
Thistly Cross Cider in Scotland, are perry makers are keen to find new sources
experimenting with novel production of pears. Apple Cottage in Hertfordshire
methods and ingredients to make a cider posted this message on their website: We
that is styled as ‘refreshing’ and is low require Perry pears for our Perry project.
in alcohol. Scottish apples, including So if you have Perry pear trees or even an
heritage cider apples, are pressed on the orchard of them, give us a buzz. We always
farm, fermented with champagne yeasts struggle to get enough Perry pears in a
and matured for at least 6 months. The single season. This message, appearing
result is a ‘gently sparkling cider’. online, also points to the growing potential
of evolving forms of communication in
Chalkdown Cider, in Hampshire, use sourcing fruit as well as communicating
a method which includes secondary more generally with makers, growers and
fermentation in the bottle to produce a customers, as we note in the next section.
yearly total of 9000 bottles of naturally
sparkling cider which they market
as ‘an alternative to champagne’.
Sandford Cider in Devon have infused
cider with hops – perhaps to appeal to
the beer drinker (a combination we came
across more than once) and also produce
raspberry, ginger and elderflower ciders,
in addition to more traditional ciders.
Annings in Devon are keen, according to
their website, to keep the tradition of West
Country cider alive and supply traditional
cider to pubs but also produce a range of
fruit cider such as Pink Grapefruit and
Pineapple, Sour Cherry and Botanicals.
Once upon a Tree Cider are looking at co-
operating with a strawberry and raspberry
grower to produce ‘co-fermented’ fruit
Marketing and Communication : the
ciders. This is not a cheaper option, as
significance of labelling, branding
Liz Waltham pointed out, but she sees
and the rise of social media
this as a more ‘genuine’ product.
The rise in popularity of craft cider, we
Saxby’s Cider in Northamptonshire were told, probably benefited from the
has a mix of 3,500 cider and dessert major marketing campaigns of the big cider
apple trees which he blends in his cider, makers, which transformed the image of
embracing as he says both traditional cider and introduced it to a younger market.
and modern techniques. They won Great The rise in the number and success of
Taste awards in 2017 for their plum cider smaller cider makers probably also owes
and the business continues to grow. much to new methods of communicating
Perry (the pear equivalent of cider) has with their customers, with their potential
declined in popularity in recent years as volunteer pickers and those providing
noted above. However we would like to apple donations. Trenchmore Farm, who
highlight the fact that many cider makers produce Silly Moo cider, said that people
18who bring apples to swap have a loyalty Though rustic images remain much
to the product and buy it for family and in evidence, some cider makers have
friends. Picking days are a chance for moved far away from images of rural
people to experience the countryside and idylls in their marketing. SeaCider is an
be a ‘farm labourer’ for a day. There is example of a very different approach,
much in the media about the ‘experience’ appealing to younger, urban drinkers.
economy and how we are spending less Alice Churchward told us that for young
on buying things and more on doing people ‘branding is everything’. This is
things and then telling the world about reinforced by CGA reports indicating that
it in social media. Some cider businesses ‘52% of late-night consumers aged 18-34
are already taking advantage of this. years uploaded an image of what they were
Websites are increasingly professional, eating or drinking on ‘a night out’ to social
sophisticated and easy to navigate. Online media’. (Imbibe online). Alice said that
sales are available from many producers. images of ‘horses and carts’ were definitely
Social media is used routinely by producers out and that ‘innovative and contemporary
to promote and sell and by consumers to and experimental’ is what sells. Labelling
connect with each other. Alice Churchward, that featured ‘pin-ups’ is also a no-no
when asked how she finds producers, said and led to the withdrawal of a cider from
that Instagram was one of her main sources. one London pub. Asked if a cider that
Social media is used to connect members had wildlife-friendly, sustainable orchard
of the cider community with each other as credentials might be popular, Alice thought
well as customers. Facebook has numerous that definitely yes, this could be a selling
groups devoted to cider and perry including point amongst her clients and could even
‘The Promotion of Real Cider and Perry’ carry a premium ‘if the packaging is right’.
group, administered by Tim Beer of Conclusions
Marshwood Vale Cider, in Dorset. Craft cider making is on an upward
Cider makers recognise the importance trend. Our research indicates that this
in promoting their product, of the image could have a very positive impact on the
they wish to convey, their backstory, use of orchard fruits since the makers
description of ingredients and methods and of craft cider are often passionate
the actual people involved. Each batch of about the source of their fruit, and its
Big Nose and Beardy cider has a different environmental and heritage credentials.
name and its own story on its labelling. The innovations we came across in
terms of how fruit is sourced point to
some possible ways more fruit could be
salvaged for productive use. These include:
swapping apples for cider, volunteer
picking days organised by cider makers,
and picking apples in exchange for orchard
management. Several cider makers pointed
out that picking apples themselves was
not cost-effective and suggested that some
kind of regional-based picking service
would be really useful, with apples going
From SeaCider’s website to a place from which cider makers could
The importance of the image collect the apples. Some cider makers
conveyed by labelling was emphasised told us that they were actively seeking
by Alice Churchward. fruit from traditional orchards but that
there was no way of easily knowing how
19to locate them. Given the difficulties some and local sourcing of their food, seems
makers told us about finding orchards to apply for many people also to their
or apples, a well run online ‘market preference for craft ciders. This indicates
place’ could be useful in connecting that if other barriers can be overcome, the
orchard owners with cider makers. currently unused fruit could have a value.
The innovations in the types of cider There is something of a campaigning
being produced indicate a vibrant cider zeal apparent amongst makers and this
market at the local and regional level comes through in their marketing and
with the sourcing of apples and pears close connections with consumers through
from traditional and, more broadly, local apple swaps, picking days and festivals.
orchards being a major selling point. Craft Social media, contemporary images and
cider’s specific appeal for many consumers, branding are paramount in spreading
including urban customers, does seem to its appeal, but so too is the connection
rely on its links with locality, traditional with the land, tradition, environmental
orchards, and the skill and dedication of values and craftmanship. These bode
those who produce it. The same impetus well for the future of craft cider and for
that has fuelled the value people place on the furthering of connections between
the traceability, environmental credentials makers and traditional orchards.
205 Plums
Some of the orchards in the Three Counties However we were interested to see that one
were once commercial plum orchards. cidermaker, Saxby’s in Northamptonshire
Jim Hartman of the Hartpury Heritage has won an award for their plum cider,
Centre explained that these were planted pointing perhaps to a new use for some
for jam making, at a time when sugar, plum juice. An owner of a mainly damson
grown in the colonies, was cheap. Since orchard that we contacted, Caroline Zeunie
then, there has been a steady decline in who was one of the beneficiaries of the
the commercial value of these orchards Three Counties Orchard Project, explained
and it is 20 years since any have supplied that she now farms for the wildlife value
professional jam makers. It is a similar of the fruit and is content that apart from
story in the Clyde Valley, southeast of the few plums she harvests for family and
Glasgow. The Clyde Valley is Scotland’s friends, the rest provides rich pickings
single biggest and most concentrated for badgers, wasps and other wildlife.
orchard area due to its sheltered In the Clyde Valley, most of the
environment. There is a predominance stakeholders agree that in order to
of plum and damson trees planted in the revitalize the orchards a commercial value
late 1800s for fresh fruit and jam. With has to be found for its fruit, particularly
changes in shopping habits, supermarkets through added-value products. The
and jam makers importing fruit, most of Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) was
the orchards are no longer commercial commissioned to research these marketing
and the majority of the fruit is not used. opportunities and some of their conclusions
We know that plums are harvested by may offer inspiration for the Three Counties
community orchard groups for jam making, (2013, SAC Food & Drink CAVLP Orchard
chutney, plumbago etc. Plums pose Products Market Study prepared for the
particular problems because they do not Rural Development Trust Ltd). Their key
store well and so commercial use is limited. findings and recommendations were:
21Plums are used in fruit cider by Saxby’s
* The amount of fruit available for We talked to Edward Thompson of
commercial use is small due to the average Pixley Berries in Herefordshire who are
size of individual orchards. Commercial producers of pure, not from concentrate
use of the fruit would require co-operation fruit juices amongst other products. They
amongst growers to provide sufficient don’t usually do contract juicing but in
volume of fruit to make processing order to juice plums for example, they
worthwhile. would need a minimum quantity of 25
tonnes of fruit, delivered to one point at
* The fruit ‘collective’ would need to the same time, and meet the company’s
collaborate with existing businesses that traceability and other standards. First
are willing to take on each product and and foremost, of course there needs to
help with processing, marketing and be demand. These criteria together may
distribution. These businesses will generally prove too hard to meet for plums sourced
want to deal with only one point of contact from traditional orchards scattered around
and expect minimum quality standards. the Three Countries. But the principle
might be worth exploring with commercial
* An enterprise structure will need to be enterprises specialising in juice, jams and
developed that meets the needs of business preserves in the region who are interested
partners, orchard owners, and customers. in the provenance of fruit from traditional
orchards or who offer contract processing.
226 Community Initiatives
and Fundraising
In this section we focus on activities organisations lack the skills, time and
that operate at the community, not-for- capacity required for significant marketing,
profit level. We have included not-for- distribution and sales of products.
profit juice and cider making, orchard Funding for orchard group activities is
fruits as sources of fund raising, and less available than in the past. Sources
orchards as therapeutic spaces. such as the Lottery Local Food Fund
Orchard groups play a significant role have come to an end. This means that
in sustaining traditional orchards – and we cannot depend on orchard groups
sustaining public interest and passion to harvest and make use of the unused
in orchards and local fruit. It could be fruit from traditional orchards.
said they underpin the success of the However, we came across dynamic groups
commercial ventures by continually and individuals that demonstrate ways
raising the profile and importance of of making use of fruit from traditional
orchards and all they have to offer even orchards by making and selling juice and
if the orchard groups themselves are not cider, from new partnerships with groups
equipped to make major inroads into the such as the gleaning network, engaging
unused fruit in traditional orchards. in new ventures such as training in cider
Nevertheless we found that there is making, and making use of orchards for
frustration that the fruit from traditional therapeutic and educational purposes.
orchards is not being made more use of. Not-for-profit Juice and Cider Making
Time and again we were told that since Below we look briefly at the activities of
such groups depend on volunteers, their orchard groups who demonstrate different
capacity to harvest and process fruit ways of supporting the use of fruit from
depends on the right people being in traditional orchards. Some of their activities
place to recruit, support and organise are income generating. Income derived
volunteers. In addition, many not for profit
23from services or sales of orchard products offer a comprehensive orchard maintenance
may be enough to cover the staffing costs service, juicing service and equipment hire,
of the key people involved or to replace and and sell apple juice, apple verjuice and
expand equipment. These organisations cider vinegar through at least 12 local retail
are largely dependent on volunteers for outlets. In the longer term, they aim to be
most of the labour involved. The profits, self-financing and not rely on grants. With
if any, are ploughed back into the group’s Herefordshire Wildlife Trust underpinning
funds and used to meet the group’s aims. the organization and enabling it to apply
Colwall Orchard Group for substantial grants at the moment,
Colwall Orchard Group (COG) is in Orchard Origins can concentrate on
Herefordshire. Pam McCarthy informed building up its money-making enterprises
us that COG was in some ways the model to support its longer term sustainability.
that led to TCTOP, in testing the idea Brighton Permaculture Trust
for community organisations using Brighton Permaculture Trust (BPT) has
volunteers to co-operate and promote a strong orchard theme in their work.
better management in traditional orchards BPT manage two old traditional orchards
which are privately owned. COG uses with the help of volunteers, and harvest
volunteers to collect and harvest apples the apples from these orchards to make
from local, privately owned traditional into juice, cider, and preserves. They have
orchards in Colwall. It stores and sorts linked up with FareShare who supply
the fruit and uses a juicing service to food banks and source apples from the
press, pasteurize and bottle the juice Gleaning Network. The Gleaning Network
ready for sale. In previous years the organise their own volunteers to pick
apples were sent to Pershore College apples and other fruit. Since perishable
for juicing, for the last two years juicing apples can be hard to distribute on time,
has been carried out by Orchard Origins some are passed on to BPT to juice.
(see below). COG pay for this service and In 2015 BPT launched a crowd funding
then sell the juice for a profit at the local appeal and raised over £12,000 to build
shop and cafe and at events. It only uses their “Fruit Factory” where they process
three or four local outlets and this is a orchard fruits. The Fruit Factory is in a
calculated decision. They do not have public space where people can stop to watch
storage space for apples and bottles or the process and try the juice. Bryn Thomas
continuity of supply for more outlets. told us that juicing fruit is not just about
Orchard Origins making money but is part of their campaign
Orchard Origins in Herefordshire was to raise peoples’ awareness that orchard
launched in 2012 with a grant from the Big fruit can be made into a delicious drink.
Lottery Fund’s Local Food scheme. They BPT’s Stephan Gehrels has been
are a Community Interest Company (CIC), experimenting with cider making. Starting
wholly owned by the Herefordshire Wildlife with apples picked by volunteers from their
Trust. As a CIC they can trade as a business orchards and urban gardens, they bought in
so long as all their assets and profits benefit third grade apples from a local commercial
their social and environmental aims. These grower, and then this year from a cider
are to conserve the vulnerable habitats of apple orchard that had lost its contract with
traditional orchards and improve people’s a big producer. They are about to acquire
wellbeing and skills through orchard an alcohol license, so they can sell the
management. They are working with cider throughout the year, and especially
the mental health charity, Herefordshire on summer and autumn weekends when
Mind, offering volunteering opportunities they regularly juice apples at the Fruit
in orchard management skills. Orchard Factory. They are learning year by year
Origins raise staff funds through grants and
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