Coopers Brewery will enter the Australian cider market following an agreement with English cider manufacturer, Thatchers Cider.
The South Australian based brewery signed the contract late last year, allowing it to keg and distribute draught Thatchers Gold, the second largest draught cider in the UK, to the on-premise market in Australia.
Thatchers Gold is currently being put on tap in hotels across Australia and Coopers managing director, Tim Cooper, said the brand had been looking to enter the cider market in Australian for the past three years but, until now, hadn’t been able to find the right partner.
“We expect Thatchers Gold will have a major impact on the draught cider market in Australia,” he said.
“It is highly regarded as one of the world’s best ciders and is a great fit within our portfolio of quality beers. We are determined to establish Thatchers Gold as a premium brand in the growing Australian cider market.
“Thatchers is a fourth generation family business that produces premium quality products. It has been growing rapidly in the past 20 years and the fit seemed right. We are extremely excited about the possibilities.”
Under the arrangement, tankers of bulk cider are being shipped to Coopers’ brewery at Regency Park from Thatchers’ facility at Myrtle farm in Sandford, North Somerset.
The cider is being kegged by Coopers into its standard kegs for use in hotels, clubs and bars around Australia, while Premium Beverages will also distribute Thatchers packaged cider.
Coopers’ chairman, Glenn Cooper, said he was currently negotiating to have draught Thatchers Gold on sale at the Clipsal 500 in late February expects it will create enormous interest from the public.
The cider market is currently one of the fastest growing sectors of the Australian liquor industry, with recent IBIS World figures showing demand has doubled over the past five years.
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